


Friends and Loved Ones

by Kaiju62



Category: RWBY
Genre: Beacon Academy, Drama, F/F, F/M, Relationship(s), Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-07-14 23:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 216,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7196678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiju62/pseuds/Kaiju62
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The students at Beacon train every day of their lives to become Huntsmen and Huntresses, defenders of the people, those who stave off the darkness always threatening to close in on Remnant. But, they're still people, emotions and all and they play a high stakes game in their chosen profession. Follow Teams RWBY and JNPR during their time at Beacon in a slightly AU where the actual events of the show don't very much come into play. As Nora said, "Nothing bad ever happened. Ever!" Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fight

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Teams RWBY and JNPR looked on expectantly as Jaune made his way to the sparring area. All of them knew something like this was bound to happen eventually, Professor Goodwitch had promised that by the end of the semester every student in the class would face every other student at least once. So it was only natural that Jaune would have to spar Cardin eventually. It was just Jaune’s luck that he wound up facing him this early in the bouts, before he had much chance to watch the way Cardin fights or get much training done with Pyrrha.

Cardin was an intimidating opponent to say the least, for Jaune that was. His weapon was simple, a large mace with a chunk of red dust seemingly shoved in the end, but that made it substantially more advanced than Jaunes simple sword and shield, _Crocea Mors_ . As Jaune made his way to the sparring area, in front of the entire class, he tried to think of what Ruby had been going on about. The mace was large but mostly hollow and certainly made of an alloy similar to her _Crescent Rose_ or Nora’s _Magnhild_ so it was certainly light, but she had assured him that it would not also be a gun as it lacked any sort of actuators or seams typically needed for weapon transformations. Also, she warned him, the crystal was sure to be a force to reckon with. It’s application was crude and in no way an elegant solution, but, she figured this straightforward approach complimented Cardin’s fighting style. Ruby had cautioned him as a final piece of advice, direct and lacking in grace didn’t mean ineffective, Yang was proof of that.

Ruby had delivered all of this information to Jaune in a rapid fire format in just the few moments between Professor Goodwitch calling his name and Juane assembling his gear and squeezing out of their thin aisle of seats. She made the assessments on his weapon and fighting style quickly, and was able to deliver them to Jaune in an extremely short span of time in a way even he could understand. Boy was Jaune glad the energetic little brunette was on his side.

While he was glad for the help, the knowledge didn’t ease his apprehension much as he paced nervously down the stairs. Cardin was large, maybe only an inch or two taller than Jaune but much broader in the shoulders and with hulking muscles surely gained from a lifetime of practice with the massive mace. Jaune was mostly still the scrawny little blonde kid he had been on the airship his first day here. Sure Jaune was toned and firm, he had musculature far beyond that of an average person, but not a single person at Beacon could be called average. This was a school for the best of the best, huntsman and huntresses destined to defend the world and the interests of Vale. Jaune however, was reminded constantly by every other student here that he had snuck his way in. No one knew except his team, as their unfortunately appointed leader it was the least he could do to tell them once he had come out to Pyrrha about it. But when he watched them train he was shown time and again just how outclassed he was at Beacon in terms of physical skill and ability.

But, Jaune had committed himself to stay and become the best Huntsmen he could while at Beacon. He had a fantastic team around him and couldn’t have asked for better friends in Team RWBY. This challenge though, facing down Cardin, was his alone and the pent up rage from the bullying he constantly suffered at Cardin’s hands sure wouldn’t hurt.

As he and Cardin both reached the arena from opposite sides of the classroom, Professor Goodwitch tapped at her scroll and their names and aura meters appeared on the large display behind her.

“Alright you two, this is a fight so go at each other with everything you’ve got. But, when that buzzer sounds you back off. I will not tolerate any hits after either of your aura drops. We are here to train, not injure one another.” The Professor gave them both a stern look, but lingered significantly longer on Cardin. She stepped back and waved them both back to opposite sides of the arena. As they made their way to their respective corners, Professor Goodwitch retreated to a small viewing platform opposite the rest of the class. Jaune unsheathed his sword and whipped his scabbard into its expanded form as a heater shield, the set of golden circles expanding into his familiar crest. He shook his armor, getting it to sit correctly over his hoodie and turned to face Cardin. As he brought his eyes up to meet his opponent Jaune was afforded a brief view of the audience. His friends were all looking on, Pyrrha had steeled her eyes in confidence. Jaune locked with her gaze and went to give her an appreciative and reassuring nod before his visage was broken by loud exuberant cheering from the pint sized leader of Team RWBY.

“Woooo! Let's go Jaune! Crush him!” She yelled, leaning forward against the railing of her seat, pumping her fists in the air. Not one to be outdone, his red headed firecracker of teammate jumped up from her seat as well.

“End him Jaune!” Nora hollered, with perhaps more malice than Jaune felt she should feel towards a fellow student. Jaune laughed to himself and shook his head a little, how could anyone possibly be expected to keep up with the enthusiasm of Ruby and Nora at the same time. All the same, their cheers gave him a new found confidence and a sincere desire not to disappoint them, any of them. He raised his sword above his head and let out his best battle cry, his voice cracking as he tried to fill the auditorium with his fervor for battle.

“Is that the best you can do Jauney-boy?” Cardin sneered from his place. A digital chime sounded the beginning of the match. Cardin bellowed, much louder and deeper than Jaune thought he was even capable of and barreled forward, mace hoisted high in both hands. Jaune stumbled back, unprepared for the start of the match and thrown off by the pitiful inadequacy of his own shouts. He caught his footing, grinding his heels into a stance Pyrrha had pounded into his brain and muscles over the last few weeks, bringing his sword arm down behind him and straightening his shield to guard against the coming blow, he readied himself.

Cardin came smashing down like a tsunami, bringing the full force of his mace, body and sprinting charge to bear against Jaune’s guard. But, the defensive stance held and Jaune weathered the blow with admirable grit. With a flex and a grunt, Jaune repulsed the larger boy from his shield and strove forward to go on the offensive. Raising his sword to hip level and advancing Jaune prepared for the fray.

As Jaune advanced Cardin let his arms out to his sides, holding his massive weapon off center, proving his immense strength by extending the mass of metal to arms length and not showing an ounce of strain.

“What's wrong Jauney-boy? Scared to come out from behind that little shield?” Cardin shrugged and looked out to the audience, really gloating in his perceived dominance over Jaune. Seeing an opportunity Jaune advanced and struck out with his blade, aiming for Cardin’s unguarded midsection. In an impressive, and unexpected display of finesse Cardin reacted by twirling his mace at the wrist and using the shaft of the weapon to deflect Jaune's blow. He let the momentum of the mace carry itself around, over his own head, and back down towards Jaune's exposed skull. Jaune, still reeling from the unexpected deflection threw his shield over his head, but lacking any stance the overhand blow sent him tumbling across the arena floor.

As he scraped to a halt, Jaune shook his head, cursing himself for not knowing that Cardin was goading him, pulling him into the strike that Cardin was more than prepared for. He cursed himself again as he checked the meters on the reverse of his shield, his aura was still mostly full but had now taken a hit, putting Jaune at a clear disadvantage to the untouched Cardin. He had to come up with a way to get inside Cardin’s extensive striking range and limit the mobility of that mace to gain the upper hand. If only he could-

“Jaune watch out!” He heard a feminine voice call out, drawing his attention back to the situation at hand. He looked up from his kneeling position to see Cardin laughing with the front of his mace leveled in Jaune's direction, gripped firmly in both hands. Jaune could see the dust crystal glowing a fierce red. He bolstered his guard by bracing the shield against his knee, ducking his head and forcing his shoulder into the metal. The blast shook him, forcing his teeth to chatter even as he clenched against the force. But, his shield, reliable as ever, took the blow for him, the only noticeable effect being that he was forced back across the ground several inches by the wave of energy emitted from Cardin’s mace.

C’mon Jaune, he said to himself, you can do this. Cardin was laughing at him, taunting him for still hiding. Jaune braced himself against his back foot, pulled up onto the ball of his foot and tore out towards Cardin, bellowing a much more impressive battle cry than before. As he came in Cardin threw the head of his mace forward intending to stop Jaune in his tracks with the strike. But, Jaune was prepared this time, he threw his shield arm out, catching the mace head mid-swing and deflecting Cardin’s strength off to the side. Jaune followed the motion with his other arm, bringing his word around under Cardin's up thrown arm as he tried to regain his balance. The speed and ferocity of Jaune's assault threw Cardin off his game, the blow landing hard and biting into Cardin’s auric defense. Jaune pressed forward, levering his blade against Cardin's torso as he pulled free and jammed his shield into the shoulder joint of Cardin’s armor.

Cardin stumbled backwards, reeling from the forceful double-tap he had received. Jaune reared his sword arm back, readying his shield and bringing an overhand blow down towards Cardin’s staggered form. Regaining his footing, Cardin swung his mace above his head and braced it with both arms, leveling the shaft of the weapon across his form. Jaune's blade clashed against the boy's guard, clanging out in the auditorium.

Ruby turned to Pyrrha as Jaune and Cardin continued to clash in the arena below.

“Wow Pyrrha, your training with him is really paying off,” she bubbled, clearly impressed with Jaune's performance, “He’s way better than he was during team selections.”

“Oh yes, he has committed himself wholly to his training. I cannot take the credit, it is his hard work that has put him where he is,” Pyrrha responded, granting the small brunette a genuine smile. They returned their attention to the ongoing match, watching as Jaune put his superior agility to good use, ducking and dodging the powerful blows from Cardin to avoid being beaten down by the sheer force of his weapon.  Ruby and Pyrrha watched the fight rage on below, admiring their friend and teammate hold his own against a skilled and powerful opponent.

Cardin took his mace in both hands gripping at either extreme of the shaft, one hand at the pommel and the other pushed against the base of the head. He forced the length of the weapon at Jaune and the boy caught the blow squarely with his shield, the recoil forcing the two apart. They were both breathing hard, driven to ragged breaths by their exertion.

“Whadda you think Cardin? Want me to go back to hiding?” Jaune tossed across the arena.

“Give it up Jauney. I'm gonna crush you!” The larger boy bellowed as he brandished his mace and fell upon Jaune, raining blows down on his guard faster than Jaune could avoid. His shield took the blunt of the the assault but his aura was nicked at with every strike to save his bones from being turned to powder under the weight of Cardin’s attacks. From beneath his guard Jaune waited, he could feel the stream of blows slowing, weakening as Cardin over exerted himself in a vain attempt to pummel Jaune through force alone. Almost, Jaune had to be patient, attacking too soon would mean Cardin was still able to counter and Jaune didn’t know how many bursts of power he had left himself.

A blow came down hard, Cardin’s arm relaxing at the base of the swing and allowing the blonde boy to take the weight of the mace, if only for a second. A lapse in form due to Cardin’s exhaustion that Jaune was more than happy to exploit. With a shove of his shoulder and twist of his wrist Jaune dislodged the mace from atop him and brought his sword up under Cardin’s mace arm. Cardin’s stamina was at it’s limits and he was unable to recover from the sudden disruption in his attack pattern, he fell back out of stance, swinging his mace arm up and forward to attempt to regain balance. Jaune's blade caught him unawares and bit up into his armpit, his aura humming as it strove to keep Jaune's blade from contacting Cardin’s person. Jaune didn’t allow him time to recover, he knew that this was his chance. He pulled the blade directly back and stabbed for the larger boy's dangerously exposed mid-section. Cardin’s aura received and dispersed the stab, allowing it to send him flying backwards instead of letting the blade slip into his rib cage.

Cardin hit the ground hard and a buzzer sounded from Professor Goodwitch’s perch. A glance up to the monitor against the wall revealed that Cardin’s aura had dropped below acceptable levels and that the match was over. Jaune wanted to revel in his victory, Cardin was nowhere near the top of the class, he was a second or third rate fighter at best and would have been dispatched easily by any of Jaune's friends. But to Jaune the victory was more than a test of skill, Cardin had been harassing him since his first day at the academy and this may put an end to that. Jaune wanted to wave triumphantly to his friends in the stands, he wanted to stand tall and be proud in his victory. However, his haggard and beaten body would simply not comply. He slumped over and let his hands rest on his knees, still gripping his sword and shield as if his life depended on it.

 Despite his lackluster celebration, his friends understood the significance of his victory and cheered him accordingly. Most of them applauding politely, if maybe louder than the rest of the crowd who was applauding an entertaining bout no matter their relation to the victor. Ruby and Nora however, maintained their exuberance from the start and screamed their approval of his performance. Jaune shook his bangs from his eyes and looked up to them in the stands, he managed a half-hearted wave to the pint sized powerhouses and the rest of his friends. Slightly recovered from his final push for victory, Jaune collapsed his shield and sheathed his sword, with the weight now more manageable on his hips Jaune stood tall and was able to breath deeply.

Professor Goodwitch descended back to the arena and stepped between the two combatants, regarding neither of them and instead remaining focused on the students gathered in the seats above.

“That was an excellent example of strategy and cunning overcoming a substantially stronger opponent. Mr. Arc knew that he was outmatched and weathered the initial combat in order to assess his opponent’s tactics and formulate a counter strategy. He-” Professor Goodwitch stopped short and looked at the two boys one struggling to a seated position and the other grinning like a fool, “Gentlemen, please clean yourselves up and return to your seats.” She returned to her lecture on the use of strategy in situations of overwhelming force, praising Jaune for his victory while subtly admonishing him for his inability to defeat Cardin outright through superior skill or ability. Jaune and Cardin willingly but slowly got up from their places and removed themselves to the locker room to remove their armor and stash their weapons.

Weiss and Blake began taking notes, paying rapt attention to the professor’s lecture. Yang immediately went to her scroll to let other friends know about Jaune’s victory, hopefully he knocked Cardin down a few pegs, maybe Velvet could even get a break from his racist harassment. Pyrrha watched Jaune depart to the locker room and only spared part of her attention for Ruby and Nora as they rattled off next to her, any attempt at discretion existing solely in their own minds.

“And then he was all smack, bam and Cardin just fell all over himself!” Ruby yelled in a whisper to no one in particular, making exaggerated hand motions in the air to mime the combat they had just witnessed.

“Ooohhhh,” Nora growled, “That. Was. Fan-tastic! Jaune probably could have hit him harder though, make him remember it longer.” The two hyperactive girls began to feed off of one another, growing louder and more excited in their retelling of Jaune's exploits, which everyone had just witnessed, until finally Professor Goodwitch snapped.

“Miss Rose, Miss Valkyrie, may I remind you we are still in class,” and the two girls fell silent, short cut hair drooping around their saddened faces. The rest of the class passed in relative peace once they were brought to heel. Jaune returned and Ruby nearly exploded in her excitement, wanting to discuss his entire match with him. But, a subtle kick under the desk from Blake drew Ruby’s attention back to their Professor who was eyeballing her even as she lectured. Ruby clamped her mouth shut, catching the words halfway in her throat. She settled for a huge smile to Jaune and a quick high five as he sidled past her to sit with the rest of his team who likewise shared silent congratulations.

* * *

Class was dismissed and Ruby breathed an audible sigh of relief, as if she had been holding her breath since Professor Goodwitch had stared her down. Weiss sighed.

“We might have to get Professor Goodwitch to visit our dorm room some time. I don't think I have ever seen Ruby go that long without talking.”

“Well, she does sleep Weiss,” Yang defended her sister.

“And even then she mumbles about in her dreams.” Blake spoke without turning from her bag as she packed away her books and prepared to leave.

“Wuh? No. Do I really?” Ruby was aghast.

“Sorry Rubes, you always have,” Yang smiled at her sister’s distress.

Ruby looked down at her hands, turning them over and over as if examining herself for the first time,

“I had no idea I was that--” she paused, contemplating this new self discovery “Awesome! Oh my Oum, do I ever say anything embarrassing? Like who Weiss has a crush on? Or how Yang afforded her motorcycle? Or about Blake being a-” and Blake’s hand sealed the leader’s lips before she could finish her revelations.

“No Ruby, you only talk about those things when you're wide awake.” She gave Ruby a hard look and removed her hand. Ruby turned to her other teammates, both of whom were slack jaw in disbelief.

“Oh...uh, sorry…” Ruby’s head fell again.

Jaune came over from his team’s seats, still wearing his well earned victory grin. Ruby looked up and snapped back to overwhelming pride and happiness for her friend. 

“Jaune!” A flurry of rose petals drifted to the ground and she was hugging him around his middle, as high as she could reach, “Jaune, you did great!”

He returned her embrace with a quick one armed hug before she pulled away.

“Yeah well I had a lot of help, Pyrrha has been pushing me hard lately, getting my swordplay up to snuff. And those tips Ruby, oh my Oum were those helpful. You were spot on about that crystal and about how Cardin would attack with that giant thing. Thanks so much.”

“Oh pfffft,” Ruby ground the toe of her boot into the ground, “It wasn't that much, I'm sure you would have figured it out.”

“Yeah you really handled yourself out there Jaune, maybe we should spar sometime?” the hulking blonde gave him a playful punch to the shoulder that none the less sent him stumbling a step or two to the side.

“Heh, yeah I don't know if I'm quite up to that yet,” Jaune laughed, knowing that in a one on one match he would be lucky to even catch a lock of Yang’s hair on his blade and that if he managed that, he may never see the light of day again. As Jaune did his best to not fall to the ground Pyrrha, Ren and Nora finally made their way over from their seats, having finished cleaning up Nora's scattered ‘notes’ which were mostly doodles of her smashing in Grimm heads with her hammer and Ren peacefully watching on, petting a wide variety of rather complacent looking sloths.

“You truly are improving faster than you know Jaune,” Pyrrha put a hand out to steady him, “and every day that you train with your aura, the amount you have access to grows.” Pyrrha’s hand lingered on Jaune's shoulder well after he recovered. Jaune turned and threw a few playful jabs at her midsection, never actually making contact.

“All because of your training partner,” he smiled up at her and she winced back a grin in return, letting her hand fall back to her side.

“We should be making our way to Professor Oobleck’s class,” Ren held his usual composure despite the fact that he was holding Nora back as she tried to scramble down the hallway after a retreating Cardin.

“He shouldn’t still be walking,” she gasped out between grunts as she flailed against Ren’s complacent iron grip.

“Come Nora, you’ll get your chance soon enough,” she collapsed to a cross legged sitting position but Ren never let go of her collar. 

“Fine! I’m still gonna try and see if I can knock him out of the top windows though,” the girl snickered to herself, imagining Cardin’s limp frame flying helplessly through the ornate glass windows that framed the high ceilinged lecture hall. Ren turned down the hall, dragging the maniacal girl behind him.

“Forward to Oobleck’s class!” Ruby punched a tiny fist into the air and went goose stepping down the hallway after them. Weiss shook her head in mostly feigned annoyance and followed them with the rest of the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there is it, the very first chapter of the story I've been badgering you all about for weeks. This one is really long and is actually the idea that got me writing FanFiction in the first place. There's a lot going on and the perspective will jump around between characters unlike Clubbin'. I really hope you liked it and please please please tell me what you thought. I've been sitting onto his story, tuning it, going over it, and agonizing over it for months now an I wanna know what people think so PM me, leave a Review, send some smoke signals, or a messenger sloth please. That said, even if you hated it, please let me know, I promise my feelings won't be hurt. I'm a big strong man who answers Reviews with a cup of hot chocolate in my orange Goku Onesie that makes me confident so I can handle it.
> 
> That's enough rambling for today. Thanks so much for reading, hope to hear from you.
> 
> -Zach


	2. Fearless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The Beacon dining area was a grand hall, a truly magnificent sight to behold and evidence of the grandeur that Beacon’s architects intended for the school from the ground up. Capable of seating and feeding several hundred students at once, with enormous pillars flanking the hallway it was perhaps one of the largest open air rooms at the entire academy. In testament to the skill of the building’s planners the long side walls were constructed almost entirely of glass, with huge windows spanning the distance from the ground to the high vaulted ceiling. This was a space meant to remind the students at Beacon of the prestige of that establishment they were attending, and humble them in their life as servants of the public and defenders of humanity’s well being.

“Buuuuuuuttt Weeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiss…….” Ruby wailed loud enough to draw attention from many of the students enjoying their lunches in the grand hall.

“No Ruby,” Weiss returned a large platter of still warm chocolate chip cookies to the cafeteria counter, “You are not loading up on sugar this late in the day. I do not want you keeping us up all night again.”

“No, no, nononononono. I promise I’ll be good. Really I will.” Ruby watched in horror as Weiss handed the tray of cookies to Yang who placed them on a shelf out of Ruby’s reach, “Traitor” Ruby threw at Yang as she crossed her arms and began to pout. 

“Here Rubes,” Yang handed Ruby a lunch tray with an extremely well balanced and nutritious meal heaped on it, lots of greens and bright colored vegetables alongside a reasonable portion of chicken and a few slices of buttered bread. Ruby looked at the plate, a mix of shock and disgust plastered across her face, as she tried to comprehend how this could be a delicious meal she glanced up to Weiss who smiled coyly at her and placed a few more celery sticks onto her own plate before strutting off towards their table. Ruby bowed her head in defeat and began to solemnly make her way there as well when a sudden weight on her lunch tray caught her attention.

As if by magic, two pristine chocolate chip cookies had found their way onto Ruby’s plate, she looked around for the source of this wondrous miracle. Blake put a finger to her lips, shushing Ruby, and smiled at the sweet toothed brunette before making her way over to their table. Ruby mouthed a silent ‘Thank You’ in appreciation and glanced over at Weiss and Yang to make sure they were not looking before quickly devouring the cookies, emitting a pleasant hum as the chocolaty goodness graced her with it’s presence. She then skipped over to the table, much more content now that she had her vice fulfilled and possibly even more pleased with how utterly sneaky she had been about it.

Most of Team JNPR was seated already, talking quietly about the day’s classes and their prospects for that afternoon. Quiet was not something JNPR usually excelled at.

“Where’s Nora?” Yang asked as she began shoveling her heaping salad into her seemingly endlessly hungry stomach.

“Unfortunately, she had to remain behind in Professor Port’s class to explain why she had been launching small bits of paper at Cardin with doodles of her home running him through various windows around campus.” The disappointment and embarrassment in Pyrrha’s voice was clear.

“Nora is not one to let something drop.” Ren replied in his usual calm. Ruby and Blake finished making there way to the table and Yang suspiciously eyed Ruby’s suddenly cheerful face, her suspicions confirmed when Ruby self consciously wiped at her mouth. Ruby glanced up and caught Yang watching her, horror striking her as she realized what she had just done. Yang gave her a wink and returned her attention to Ren.

“Yeah, she’s really not. She’ll be fine though, Nora can take a lecturing from Port.”

“Why is Nora getting lectured?” Ruby was suddenly worried the fiery redhead may have destroyed something again.

“She was just helping me out, but after this morning I think I’m pretty safe,” Juane smiled as Ruby sat down with her team across from him. 

“Oh, more Cardin stuff? Yeah I think he’ll be a lot calmer from now on, you really showed him!” Ruby reached over the table as far as she could to high-five Jaune who laughed and reached most of the way across to smack her hand. 

“So what are the big plans for the weekend? Anything huge going down?” Yang having been able to focus on her meal had now nearly finished, “Because I neeeed to unwind a little before midterm get here.”

“Midterms are basically here already Yang. How could you possibly be so irresponsible. We should all be studying this weekend.” Weiss spoke for the first time since denying Ruby her sweets.

“Oh lighten up Ice Queen, we need to get out a little, spend some time outside of this school. I’m thinking Junior’s club, who’s with me?” Yang had a mischievous look in her eye that reminded them all of a certain absent redhead.

“Umm, I do believe Jaune had some team training planned for us this weekend,” Pyrrha looked hopefully to Jaune, begging him to catch this notion of hers at least and save them all from a weekend of guaranteed mayhem and wanton destruction. Jaune was busy though attempting to balance his spoon on the tip of his nose. Pyrrha sighed and delivered a light elbow to his side, knocking the spoon to the floor, “Isn’t that right Jaune, we have some team training this weekend?” A smile from her led Jaune to glance over at Ren for help. Ren simply continued eating his salad, remaining stoically uninvolved.

“Uhhh, yeah yeah, I had planned on us working with each other in pairs to increase our team work and plan out some combo attacks.” Pyrrha smiled at the prospect of a weekend of training with her partner, not only had he come to her rescue and prevented Yang from dragging her somewhere, he had also given her a chance to be alone with him. “I thought it would be nice to practice with each other’s partners, Nora and I can work together and Ren and Pyrrha can train some.”

“Oh wow, Ren and Pyrrha as a team, they will be so good!” Ruby seemed excited at the prospect of such a powerful pairing and Pyrrha’s face just fell, “Don’t you think you’ll be great together Pyrrha?”

Her plastered on smile returned, “Oh yes, together Ren and I would be quite formidable. I believe our fighting styles will compliment each other well.” Ren nodded in agreement. 

Yang didn’t miss a step, “What about you Blake? Wanna have some partner time, out on the town?” Blake looked up from the book she had been reading until now.

“To Junior’s club?” Yang nodded in excitement, “I don’t know Yang, last time didn't exactly go well. Are you even allowed back there anymore?”

“What? Yeah of course I am, me and Junior are fine,” Yang seemed a little dejected at the idea that Junior would ban her from the club, she mumbled off to her side, “I didn't even hurt the place that bad last time.”

“Either way I am not up for another night with you. If Weiss is studying, you're out and about and JNPR is training I may actually be able to get some reading done,” Blake sighed at Yang’s desperation as she finally regretfully turned to Ruby.

“Rubes? I know the club isn't really your thing… but maybe we can just-”. Yang is interrupted by a sharp cough from Weiss.

“She is already sneaking cookies, our glorious leader can't fall behind on her studies as well,” Weiss shot the phrase at Yang as she delivered a withering glare to Ruby. Ruby crumpled under her partners icy gaze.

“I think I have to stay here this weekend Yang,” Ruby fell to eating her salad in an attempt to pacify Weiss and lift that stare from her.

“I don't have to stay anywhere!” Nora came bounding up to the table, leaping into the air and landing cross legged at the head, resting her chin in her hands as she smiled at the gathered friends. 

“Don't you have training though?” Yang shot an inquisitive glance at Pyrrha and Jaune who both shrank under the inspection of their fabrication.

“What? Do we have training? Again? Ugh Jaune, you are such a Grimm herder!” Nora’s elation evaporated.

“Nora… language please,” Ren seemed to barely register her arrival but corrected her all the same. Nora slapped a hand over her own mouth in surprise at herself. 

“Sorry Ren,” Nora calmed a little, and turned to Jaune, “but c’mon Jaune, do we really have to train all weekend? Can't I just have tonight off so I can go out with Yang? I promise I'll train all weekend.” Nora pleaded with Jaune, looking to the rest of the group for support. Jaune caught in a strange place between letting Nora go out and still saving Pyrrha from not having an excuse to go out. He fumbled about, looking for a solution, his eyes finally rested on his constant source of strength, Ren.

“I suppose Pyrrha and I can train tonight and you and Nora can train tomorrow.” Ren delivered dryly and Jaune breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh yeah, that's good. That way our team won't take up two training rooms at once. Good idea Ren.” Jaune flashed a smile to the other boy, silently thanking him for his help, “Okay Nora, we’ll train tomorrow.”

“Yuh-es! This. Is. Happening,” Nora jumped to her feet on the table and just started dancing there in the middle of the cafeteria.

“Mrs. Valkyrie, please get off the table,” Professor Goodwitch walked past their table with the assumption her command would be followed. Nora leaped from the table to the ground by Yang and hugged her around the shoulders. 

“Oh thank you Yang! We are gonna have so much fun!” Nora delivered a bone crushing hug to the tall blonde which she gave right back.

“Watch out Vale! The girls are goin’ out.” Yang lifted the smaller girl off the ground with a grin and then set her down so they could discuss the particulars of their upcoming evening. The two girls fell to chatting excitedly between themselves.

“Oh Oum, that’s a terrible idea,” Weiss sighed, “They’re gonna cause more damage than a Grimm invasion.”

“They better not! That bakery that sells the double chocolate chip cookies just opened and they have the best cookies,” Ruby looked up from her barely touched salad in horror, “Yang, do not hurt my cookie store.”

“It’s okay Ruby, that’s clear on the other side of Vale from where they’re going. Jr’s club is over in the industrial park by the bay.” Blake put a reassuring hand on Ruby’s shoulder which seemed to brighten the team leader’s mood. 

“Honestly, all of you. Shouldn’t you be more worried about school than where you’re going dancing or whether or not you can get more cookies?” Weiss was obviously irritated by their demeanor, she crossed her arms and attempted to lecture at the entire group all at once, “Professor Port is giving us another history test next week on Oum knows what else, Professor Goodwitch is stepping up the pace of the sparring rounds, have any of you been able to keep up with Dr. Oobleck’s lectures and take all the notes? Not to mention Ozpin is sending all the teams out on another expedition mission in a little while. And all of that just before midterms come up.”

The group was silent for a moment, casting quick sideways glances at each other. No one seemed willing to break the silence and be the first to broach Weiss’s prickly exterior.

“Weiss, I’m sure that everyone is doing their best to be ready. But we have to relax sometimes or we will all be worse than useless,” the concern in Pyrrha’s voice was evident and her words were sincere, not betraying a single note of falsehood.

“Yeah Weiss, we’re not taking it easy. We are all gonna train this weekend, we’re just gonna have some fun too,” Jaune flashed his best winning smile, hoping it would do better this time than when he had Weiss slam the door in his face after serenading her with his beautiful guitar playing. Weiss did not seem overly convinced.

“I will come study with you tonight Weiss, okay?” Ruby was cheerful now, trying her best to help her friend relax, “We’re supposed to be the best teammates ever right?” Ruby held both hands up in thumbs up, her grin stretched from ear to ear.

“Okay, okay. I guess I’m just stressing out about school too much. You know how my Dad is, he’s been riding me really hard lately.” Weiss relaxed a little, letting the tension in her arms ease so that she was holding her right elbow with her left hand, rubbing it slowly, trying to calm herself down.

“Well don’t you worry about him, we‘re all gonna do great!” Ruby’s confidence was now getting the better of her as she seemed to be showing excitement for studying, “Plus I don’t know why you’re worried about the expedition mission, I loved going out with Oobleck last time. Just hopefully this time something actually happens- oh my Oum- what if we get really exciting missions and save the city or something? We’ll have so many stories before we even graduate! I wonder if we are going out with a Professor again? I bet it would be awesome to go adventuring with Professor Port, he already has so many stories. But what if we got stuck with Professor Goodwitch, she’s a really strong fighter and she helped me get into Beacon ahead of time but I don’t know if she’s very good company for a camping trip like that.”

“Ruby stop!” Weiss nearly yelled at her to get a word in inchwise with the excitable girl, she took a second to compose herself as the rest of the group laughed, “Thank you Ruby, you’re help means a great deal. I have every confidence in our team.” The heiress smiled at her leader, showing that she was recovering from her apprehensions.

“Wooooo. Team RWBY is the best!” Ruby put a foot up on the lunch bench and struck a heroic pose, she looked over to Pyrrha, Jaune and Ren, “Sorry guys,” back to the sky, “Team RWBY is the best team!” with that she leaped off the bench and turned to Weiss, “This calls for celebratory cookies,” and in a flash of rose petals she was gone, her cloak making a soft wooshing noise as she vanished from sight. Weiss sighed good naturedly and sat down to the rest of her lunch. Pyrrha tried to stifle a giggle at their antics.

“Well she has enthusiasm, you have to give her that.” Pyrrha’s eyes twinkled with merriment. 

“Yeah, she’s just so confident all the time. How does she keep that up?” Jaune looked over to where Ruby was now excitedly piling a fresh batch of cookies from the lunch counter onto her tray.

“It’s just how she’s always been. No matter how much we try to calm her down or how bad one of us messes up. I think the only time I’ve ever seen her actually nervous was when she had to wear heels to the dance.” Yang broke from her conversation with Nora, a note of pride in her voice.

The bell rang out signalling the end of their lunch period and the requisite return to classes for the afternoon. The group got up and began clearing their area of lunch trays and food remnants. Ruby returned, carrying a tray piled high with cookies.

“Whuh? Huh? No! It’s over… but..?” She looked down at the pile of cookies, still warm from the school’s ovens, “Oh well” She set the tray down and began shovelling the cookies into her mouth, one after the other, faster than it seemed she should be able to chew but there was always room for another as she just kept going. “I’ll keff upf wiff yuh n a munute,” she struggled to articulate through the wall of dough and chocolaty goodness quickly forming a solid mass in her mouth and continued shovelling them down. Most of the group laughed and Weiss only pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“Our fearless leader,” Blake ruffled Ruby’s hair as they walked past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So definitely a shorter chapter here, there are a few of those at the start to establish some things and get the story going. Establishing things like how boring their mission with Professor, sorry Dr. Oobleck was or how the worst thing that happened at the dance was Ruby in heels. I hope you enjoyed it all the same, please let me know what you thought.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading there will be two more chapters up over the weekend.
> 
> -Zach


	3. A Night In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're really much more stable than they look

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Weiss allowed herself to slide slightly further down into her covers, slinking against her pillows and letting her hair billow up around her ears in a vain attempt to muffle the noise her roommates were currently creating. This was supposed to be a place of quiet tranquility where she could study, rest, and prepare herself for their strenuous course load and training as a huntress. The bed above her emitted a rather ominous creak and Weiss warily glanced upwards to the underside of the box springs as they swayed slightly on their ropes. She sighed and let her eyes drift over to the cause, her over enthusiastic partner’s legs were dangling over the edge, excitedly kicking back and forth. Whose idea was it to let her have the top bunk again? And the suspended one at that… Oh that’s right, it was Ruby’s idea.

“So what are you and Nora gonna do tonight? Just dance?” Ruby was bouncing up and down on her bunk, restlessly flailing her legs about, a forgotten textbook lying by her side on the bed. She was bobbing her head along to the barely audible music coming from the red and black headphones she had left around her neck while she talked. Yang was using her scroll’s camera as a mirror, putting the final touches on her modest make-up for the evening.

“Dance and have a little to drink, just to unwind. Maybe let some boys flirt with us.”

Blake shot Yang a disapproving glare at the mention of alcohol which Yang promptly ignored. Blake tsked loud enough for Yang to hear, she knew the blonde was old enough to drink but that didn’t mean it needed to be a regular occurrence, nor did she need to be speaking about it so lightly in front of Ruby who had a couple years left before she could legally drink and a few more after that before it was probably a good idea for the impressionable young girl.

“Pffft! No one’s gonna flirt with you and Nora,” Yang looked up to Ruby, shock on her face, “They’re all gonna be too scared of you two, wasn’t the club closed for like a month last time?”

Yang laughed, understanding her sister’s meaning, “Just three and a half weeks, don’t exaggerate.” Ruby giggled and swayed back and forth on her bunk, kicking her feet about in the air, the bunk swayed from side to side. Weiss again glanced warily at the creaking wooden frame.

“Ruby? Ruby can you not please?” Weiss tentatively called up the young girl, setting her book down on her lap.

“What? I'm just teasing Yang, she knows.” Ruby tossed herself lightly into the air, used her semblance to do a half somersault in place, sending a small puff of rose petals at her sister, and landed on her stomach, hanging her head down so she could look at Weiss. The sudden and violent motion caused the bed to rock drastically causing Ruby’s face to swim about in Weiss’s vision. She tensed and put her hands out defensively.

“Yeah Rubes knows that none of the boys can resist this.” Yang pulled a hand under her hair and over her shoulder, flipping her hair and kicking her hip out so that all of her well toned curves were obviously apparent alongside her glorious mane of treasured blonde hair.

Blake shook her head in derision and Ruby began rolling back and forth on her bed, laughing uncontrollably, losing her headphones over the edge in the process. “Yeah… Right Yang,” she gasped out through the fits of laughter, “Totally irresistible. That's why all the guys here chase after you everyday right?”

At this both Blake and Weiss laughed, although Weiss tried to contain it at least a little, Blake allowed her quiet chuckle to escape unimpeded. Yang unstruck her pose and stamped a foot down.

“They're all just scared they won't be able to handle me. Which they won't.” Yang straightened her shoulders and stuck her chin up in the air, “And besides I haven't seen you two doing much better.” She cast a glance at Weiss and then Blake.

“Excuse me? I remember turning down at least five offers in our first week here alone.” Weiss crossed her arms and leveled her gaze at the hulking blonde.

“Yeah, all from Jaune.” Ruby offered to no one in particular, staring at the ceiling now as she tried to regain her breath. Weiss’s cheeks reddened and she picked her text back up, attempting to hide her embarrassment behind its thick pages.

“And I have no interest in the  _ boys _ here,” Blake emphasized the word with a sarcastic tone, “They're all just so…. Male.” She finally found the word she was searching for somewhere on the ceiling above her.

Ruby rolled up to a seated position, “I don’t know Blake. I think some of them are kinda-”

Yang pushed her hand into Ruby’s face playfully, one finger extended in warning, “Ahh! You just stop right there little sis’. I don't even wanna hear that from you. Nope. No way.”

It was now Ruby’s turn to cross her arms in indignation as the rest of the team chuckled, “Yaaaaaaang!”

In the midst of the team leader’s whining their dorm room door was unceremoniously kicked open, nearly flying off of its hinges and startling a rather content Zwei across the room and under Weiss’s bed. The four young girls turned to see a rather done up and as animated as usual redhead standing in the entryway, foot still in the air from having made her entrance.

“Well this is where all the fun is!” Nora nearly shouted, apparently believing she had to be louder than the rest of the room combined to be heard even after her spectacular entrance, “C’mon Yang! Let's go! The next Airbus leaves in like five minutes.

“Hi Nora!” Ruby jumped straight into the air, waving emphatically at the other girl with both arms and came crashing down to her bunk in an uncontrolled heap. It was at that point that the ropes finally decided they were done supporting Ruby’s antics and let the bed loose, much to the disdain of a certain heiress. 

Weiss was rather glad at this moment that she had the lightning fast reflexes required of those in their line of work, accompanied by the natural disposition to glyph use that came from being a Schnee otherwise she may have been crushed simply because they had wanted more room in their dorm.

“Well. Bye everybody! Don't wait up for me.” Yang and Nora quickly exited the room and speed walked down the hallway, ignoring Weiss’s indignant cries as she continued to support the bunk atop a large pulsing black glyph.

“Uhh sorry Weiss…” The team leader sheepishly poked her head over the side of the bunk and caught the heiress’s eyes, white with fury.

“Help me you dolt!” Weiss screamed, the sudden outburst breaking her concentration slightly, causing the bed to buck as she reinforced the glyph.

“Oh. Oh yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Here we go. Blake a little help here. I'm not strong like my sister. Come on team work right guys. Okay one two-” Ruby flew off the bed in a flurry of rose petals and words as she placed herself between Weiss and the bunk, doubled over and trying to use her back to lift it. She didn't stop to realize though, that her presence would interrupt Weiss’s glyph and put the full weight of the bunk on her slim shoulders. 

Blake sprung from her spot, clear across the room and tackled Ruby and the bed to the floor, pushing with her entire body to ensure the bed cleared her leader and cradling the slim brunette protectively as they crashed to the ground. She landed with her back against the overturned bunk, Ruby curled instinctively in her arms, eyes clenched tight. She slowly opened her eyes and lifted her silver gaze to meet Blake’s piecing yellow one.

“Ummm… Thanks Blake…” She trailed off, not sure how to act in this proximity.

“Oh! My! Oum! Ruby you are such a clutz!” Ruby quickly disentangled herself from Blake’s arms and sat forlornly on her knees at Weiss’s bedside to endure her tongue lashing, “There are a million other, better, ways you could have handled that. The first being not knocking your bed off the ceiling in the first place. Can you imagine if Blake wasn't here?” Aside to Blake, “Thank you Blake,” and back to Ruby, “Can you imagine what would have happened if she wasn't here?  We could have been hurt. We could have damaged the room.” Zwei hopped on the bed next to Weiss and wagged his tail, Weiss started at his presence, “What if Zwei had gotten hurt?”

At the mention of her dog Ruby’s face fell considerably, “I'm sorry Weiss. We can put the beds next to each other if you want. I’ll be better about it I promise.” 

Weiss sighed and petted Zwei’s head, scratching him gently between the ears, “We can put it back up. Well, you can put it back up. Just stop jumping around up there.” Ruby’s spirits lifted at that, she raised her eyes and looked to Weiss.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you Weiss.” She lunged up from the floor and hugged Weiss around the neck, knocking the textbook to the floor. Zwei, caught up in the excitement, began licking Weiss’s face. Blake chuckled at this as Weiss began struggling and swatting at Zwei, trying desperately to get the two overly affectionate creatures off of her.

“Ach Ruby stop. Zwei get off. Down.” Weiss slipped backwards to the floor and the three fell in a small pile. “Both of you. Honestly.” Weiss stood up from the mass of bodies and flipped her ponytail back over her shoulder, straightening her clothes and trying to appear less disheveled than she was. Ruby lurched to her feet, holding Zwei affectionately in her arms and giggling.

“C’mon Blake, wanna help me put the bed back?

“Yeah Ruby. But can you…?” Blake motioned to the fur ball in Ruby’s arms.

“Oh yeah of course Blake, sorry.” Ruby lifted Zwei up and placed him on Yang’s bunk. He barked once then walked in a small circle and laid down facing the room so he could watch them all.

“Thanks” Blake lifted herself and began helping Ruby rearrange the bed so that they could re-hang it above Weiss. While not as brutally strong as Yang, the two girls were still well beyond the task of lifting a bed together. Weiss removed herself to Blake’s bunk while they worked so she could continue to study unimpeded. Together they lifted the bed above Weiss’s and reattached the ropes which had not snapped or torn out of the ceiling, the knots holding the whole thing up had simply come undone. Once they had reattached them all, they went around the entirety of the mattress tightening the ropes to help ensure this wouldn’t happen again anytime soon.

“Thank you,” Weiss looked up at the bed from her spot on Blake’s mattress, “Perhaps now the three of us can get some studying done in peace and quiet. She lifted herself and moved towards her bunk, tossing Ruby’s fallen textbook at her on her way over. Ruby caught the book against her chest and groaned.

“We just did all that work though Weiss. Can’t we do something fun now? I know, let’s go see who can get the farthest up the side of the cafeteria without using glyphs.” Ruby tossed the book to her bunk and began putting on her boots without waiting for an answer.

“That’s hardly a fair contest Ruby. And I think some down time would be nice.” Blake returned to her spot and held her book gently in her lap, anticipating her return to whichever story she was engrossed in.

Ruby slumped back against the wall, one boot half on, “Ugh, okay. I don’t wanna study though. Do you have a book I could read Blake? Something with magic and monsters and a brave hero who saves everyone?”

“I’m sure I could find something,” Blake pulled her finger from the pages of her novel and neatly tucked a bookmark near the top to save her spot. She then rose from her seat and slid a large chest out from under her bed. She began rifling through the books within until she found one with ornate gold script on the cover and intricate patterns running down the spine. “This is one of my absolute favorites Ruby, it’s about a band of adventurers that must save the world from the brink of destruction at the ends of a hell bent demi god and his hordes of unspeakable terrors.” She gently handed the tome to Ruby whose eyes widened and grin grew until her cheeks were crushed between the two forming two little lumps of excitement at the tops of her cheekbones.

“Oh wow Blake, thanks. It looks really fancy though, are you sure it’s okay if I read it? I’ll be really careful I promise.” Blake simply nodded and pressed the novel into Ruby’s outstretched palms gingerly. Ruby took it reverently into her grasp and turned to her bed, she smiled to Weiss before carefully lifting herself into her bunk and replacing her headphones on her head, the music low enough now that the others could no longer hear it. Weiss let out a contented sigh and her shoulders actually seemed to relax a little.

A gentle rapping came at their door and it slowly creaked open as it had never been fully closed. The heavy wooden door swung away to reveal a very sheepish looking blonde boy standing uncertainly in the doorway.

“Umm… Hi there,” Jaune pulled his hand back from where it had  _ knocked _ the door open. Ruby was already heavily engrossed in the novel and didn’t seem to notice Jaune enter over the sound of her music. Weiss however sighed loudly and dropped her book to her lap in defeat.

“Oh, hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t know the door was open, I was just trying to knock and see if you were in here. It just swung open all on it’s own, I’ll try again.” Without giving any of them a chance to reply, Jaune reached in and pulled the door shut on himself, there was a few seconds of pause and then a steady rapping at the door, louder this time. Ruby’s head kicked up at the noise and she slid the headphones around her neck again.

“I’ll get it.” She marked her page with a slip of paper and gently set the book down on her bed. Then shot from the bunk to the door in a single leap. The bed swung from her departure and she looked back to Weiss, “Oh… Sorry Weiss.”

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, “Just answer the door, I have no idea who it is.” Ruby cocked her head at the sarcasm.

“Of course not, I haven’t opened the door yet silly.” Ruby turned and opened the door to find Jaune looking rather proud of himself.

“See I know how to knock on a door. I had to learn, sharing two bathrooms with all seven of my sisters after all.”

Ruby cocked her head to the side, “Jaune, what are you talking about?”

“Oh nothing, just mumbling to myself I guess,” he rubbed the back of his head, “But are you guys busy? Ren and Pyrrha actually ended up going out and training because Nora wouldn’t stop pestering them about it and then she left with Yang and there isn’t really a lot to do over there on my own.”

“We are trying to study Jaune.” Weiss put emphasis on the word ‘trying’ and shot him a particularly cold stare, “Not that we’re having much success at it.”

“Oh I could use some help actually, we can do like group study stuff, flash cards and games and quizzing each other.” Jaune was obviously desperate for something to do, but Ruby made a small choking noise in her throat.

“Ech, Jaune. No. Let’s get out, get some fresh air. Go do something.” Ruby turned to her teammates, “You guys wanna come?” Weiss got up from her bed and went over to her dresser.

“You know what? That’s a great idea Ruby. It’s awfully crowded in this little room after all.” She began rummaging through her drawers and Ruby’s face brightened considerably. Weiss found whatever it was she was looking for and came to Jaune and Ruby, “Here, you two take this and go out, have a good time, come back late. Get out of this room.” The heiress handed them a small wad of high denomination Lien with a smile.

“Whuh? Huh? No Weiss come on,” Ruby tried to push the money away from herself.

“No really I insist.” Weiss forced the cash into Ruby’s hands and pushed both she and Jaune out the door, “Have fun you two.” and closed the door.

“Wait Weiss I need my-” Ruby was cut short as the door opened and her boots came sailing out, hitting her in the face, before slamming shut again, “...boots. Thanks, Weiss!” She quickly pocketed the money and began the process of putting on her boots.

“Well okay then, looks like it’s just the two of us I guess.” Jaune smiled, “We’ll find something to do.”

Ruby smiled up from her laces, “Yeah, it’ll be great come on.” She forced her foot the rest of the way into her second boot and laced it tight before grabbing Jaune by the wrist and tearing down the hallway with him in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo chapter number three and the beginning of some actual hints as to where this whole thing is headed. Well, possibly...you'll have to keep reading.
> 
> I really hope you're enjoying it still. The chapters get a little longer coming up and then some short ones again. Some of them I felt were far too long for a single chapter and so there are a few 'Part One' and 'Part Tow type chapters. I did my best to split them in a spot that made sense and was sensibly divided by the plot so please bear with those chapters.
> 
> As always, I am immensely interest in what you all think of the story so please oh please let me know. Also, please check out today's chapter of "Clubbin' " and stay tuned for tomorrow's updates to both stories.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, please enjoy your weekend.
> 
> -Zach


	4. A Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune and Ruby go out on the town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The airbus's engines hummed gently as it came to a soft landing on one of the downtown pads, slowing it to a hover before landing legs extended to support the craft. The door popped forward slightly with a hiss of pressurized air before sliding out of the way for a small staircase to extend to the waiting ground below. Several passengers began to file out, calmly descending the steps and heading off to their evening's activities. A commotion at the back of the line caught the front few passenger's attention and they stepped hurriedly out of the way.

A blonde boy wearing a hoodie and jeans came barreling through the crowd, waving one arm about in front of him and clutching the other tightly over his mouth in a desperate attempt to hold it's vile contents within. He ran past the others and crashed into a large trash can waiting for drink cups and wrappers from passengers as they got on and off the transport. He gripped the sides of the green barrel for dear life and allowed himself to vomit. His back bucked a little as the contents of his stomach were thrown viciously out of his body.

"Sorry, sorry, excuse me. Sorry everybody. He doesn't do super well with these. 'Scuse me." Ruby wiggled her petite self through the crowd, trying desperately to make her way to Jaune's hunched form. She reached him and began rubbing his back gently, "Hey Jaune are you okay?" The other passengers continued about their business. A few girls getting off chuckled quietly, hiding their smiles behind a hand or lowering the faces so as to not openly mock the sick boy.

"Uggggh, yeah Ruby I'm okay. Thanks." Jaune righted himself slightly and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand.

"You're getting a lot better though. When you came you couldn't even go the whole trip from Beacon to here without throwing up, now at least you can hold it until the end." She gave her best reassuring smile and Jaune chuckled a little despite himself.

"Thanks Ruby. Gimme just a sec. I'll be right back." Jaune stood and made his way to the bathroom. Ruby giggled as he walked away and went to a small bench to wait for him. The last few passengers made their way off of the airbus and the door hissed again before retracting the staircase into the side and sliding the door shut again. The engines roared to life and strained against the forces of gravity, pushing the ship slowly upwards.

The wind from the engines whipped Ruby's short hair about her face and threw dirt and dust into the air around the landing pad. Ruby kept her eyes focused on the ship as it rose into the air, watching the engines rotate slightly and push the ship forward towards its next stop somewhere on the other side of Vale, closer to the docks.

"So cool," She muttered to herself under the retreating roar of the engines.

Jaune came out of the bathroom, wiping at his mouth with a brown paper towel and shaking his head. "You know the worst part is probably the taste it leaves in my mouth." He threw the paper towel into the trash can and came over to where Ruby was watching the airbus fly away. "Wanna go grab something? Like coffee or something?"

"Oh yeah sure, let's go." Ruby pushed off of the bench with both hands and landed on her feet. "There's a Stardust just down the block."

Ruby and Jaune made their way down the street, away from the landing pad and towards the promise of hot, delicious caffeine. The air was a little cool, with a steady breeze coming from the bay and relieving the pair of what little extra heat the evening air still held.

"Even for a city, Vale is just so pretty." Ruby let her gaze wander about the high rises, taking in the gleaming windows and sturdy brick architecture that dominated the city. It was still early, the sun just beginning to dip below the far off horizon and so the street lights hadn't come on yet.

"Yeah, it's not like being in a small town or anything but it's nice. It's not busy like Weiss always describes Atlas being." Jaune held his hands behind his head, with his elbows flared out to the sides as he walked. The cool air meant that not a lot of people were out on the streets, a few outdoor restaurants had customers and some cars carried their passengers home from work but other than that the city was rather quiet.

The two continued down the street until they reached the Stardust coffee shop. Inside they found a very different scene than that outside. Immediately upon entering the smell of fresh baked goods and newly ground coffee beans assaulted their nostrils, the sound of whirring bean grinders and hissing coffe pots could be heard over the low din of the crowd inside and it seemed they had found the population of Vale, all gathered together in the relative warmth of the Stardust. Throughout the store, people were gathered in small groups or standing alone and browsing their scrolls clutching white cups with the easily identified Stardust logo emblazoned on the side, a coffee bean zooming along a small arc propelled by dust all in encapsulated in a tiny circular logo.

"Ahh that's so much better," Jaune stretched his arms after holding the door for Ruby, "It was getting kinda cold out there." They made their way to the small line and Ruby began scanning the display of pastries and sweets.

"It's always so warm in here, I love it. And they have the absolute best chocolate croissants. They have like chocolate chips baked right into them and this chocolate drizzle over the top and they'll heat it up if you ask and it gets all warm and gooey and the bread is so flaky."

"One large coffee and a chocolate croissant please." Jaune ordered from the older Faunus woman behind the counter, she had a simple set of antlers that hugged her green Stardust hat on top of her head. She thanked him and turned to grab Ruby's croissant and put it in the small oven.

"Oh thanks Jaune. I didn't even see the line move. Here." Ruby pulled a 20 Lien bill out of her pocket and offered it to him.

"Ruby that's alright, it's just a croissant."

"No silly, this is the money Weiss gave me remember?" The waitress came back with Ruby's croissant and a small napkin. Ruby slid past Jaune and paid for the snack and his drink.

"Your drink will be out in just a moment over at the bar." the Faunus woman smiled as she handed Ruby her change, "Your name sir?"

"Jaune, thanks."

"Thank you." She wrote Jaune's name on a cup and handed it to another worker standing behind a large array of coffee beans, mixers, grinders, coffee pots and other complicated looking machines.

Jaune and Ruby stepped to the side, allowing other customers a chance to order.

"So does Weiss do that a lot? Just give you money to use?" Jaune leaned against the wall and watched as Rub tore hungrily into the baked goodness she was clutching between her hands. Steam rose from the white fluffy interior as she ripped a small piece off with her teeth and hummed with delight.

She swallowed and licked her lips once before answering, "Not like super a lot. Mostly she'll pay for food if we go out to eat or something. But I think she likes to give us money too so it's never like we have less than her." She took another bite of the croissant, getting a few crumbs on her cheek as she pushed her face into the bread to get a bigger bite.

"John. I have a coffee for John." The employee behind the counter yelled out to the store.

"They always get my name wrong," Jaune stepped over to the counter and took his coffee with a polite thank you to the girl. "Wanna find a seat?" he motioned over to a few empty spots at one side of the store. Ruby beelined for a pair of over-stuffed leather armchairs against one wall and tossed her small frame into one with a contented sigh as she sank into the seat. Jaune just laughed to himself and took his seat by her.

"That's really nice of her. I guess it must be weird, being that much richer than everybody else you know?"

"It's never really an issue. We just all kind of do our thing, we don't even need that much money at school anyways." Ruby caught Jaune's eyes and brushed at her cheek, catching the crumbs as she did. "Oh," she laughed, "Guess I dove in a little fast." She shook the crumbs into her napkin and took a much more conservative bite of her snack.

"So Jaune…" she started as she swallowed, "Are you still into Weiss? I mean you're always asking her out and everything."

"I don't know." He paused and looked at the lid of his coffee, "I can see she isn't interested in me like that. She probably just thinks I'm annoying, huh?

"Well I," Ruby paused and considered her next words, "You don't quit that's for sure. The guitar, and the flowers, the time you spelled her name out in the field outside our dorm." Ruby laughed a little at the last one, "I don't think she thinks you're annoying, or rude…. just that you're...umm." she kicked her feet a little as she thought, "persistent. Is that the right word?"

"I guess I just felt like I was supposed to be that guy you know?" He looked at Ruby in askance, realizing he was speaking with a young girl not a guy his own age. "Like because I was this guy who no one knew, that I should ask girls out and go out a lot. I guess I was wrong." He chuckled a little at himself and took a drink of his coffee.

"No Jaune. You're great. It's just, maybe, not great for Weiss?" Ruby probed the air with her question, tentatively testing his reaction. He didn't seem to react much at all so she pressed forward. "Weiss is all into crazy romance and stuff, like a movie or something. There's plenty of other girls at Beacon Jaune." she punched him lightly in the shoulder.

Jaune smiled, "Yeah. It just got me down you know? Weiss was so awesome and I even saved her during initiation and so I figured there was something there." Ruby laughed, remembering Jaune 'saving' Weiss as he more or less acted like a giant cushion, saving her from a getting her white skirt dirty as she landed on him instead of in the dirt.

"You just gotta be yourself. You'll see." She gave him her best winning smile, though her teeth were stained with more than a little bit of the chocolate from her now nearly non-existent snack.

Jaune smiled as he lowered his cup, "That's funny. That's exactly what Pyrrha told me."

Ruby looked down quickly, hiding her eyes. "Well, if Pyrrha told you then I bet it's right."

"Yeah, she always watching out for me, she's just really great like that." Jaune looked over and saw Ruby staring very pointedly at the ground, "You alright there?"

"Whuh? Oh yeah, yeah just great. How are things with you and Pyrrha?" She looked up, trying to act as normal as possible and took a quick bite of her croissant and exaggerated her chewing just to show how normal she was.

"Oh things are great. She's an awesome partner. We've been training like every single day on the roof and in the training rooms. Did you know there are like eight different ways just to hold my sword? It's crazy how much she knows."

The experienced scythe wielder laughed at that. While she wasn't any Pyrrha Nikos she was one of the best melee fighters at the school, despite her size and age, and had perhaps some of the most real world experience using her weapon of choice save for Blake. "Yeah, it's great she's there to help you. But I meant more like how are you two? Like me and Weiss are great, she gets mad at me a lot but we still get along really well. It's important for partners to understand how each other feel and I just wanna make sure that you and Pyrrha both know-"

Jaune cut her off, "Ruby, what's with the sudden interest? Pyrrha and I are great. We talk a lot and spend a lot of time together as a team."

"Oh, oh that's good. I was just wondering. You know, as another team leader and everything. I wanted to make sure you were doing okay and all and" she looked back down to take another nervous bite of her croissant only to find that it was gone and she was clutching a crumb filled napkin, "Oh hey look at that. All out of food. I'll be back." and with that she hurried off to the trash can to get rid of her garbage. Jaune just shook his head and took another sip of his coffee, the strong flavor and even the smell of it were really doing the trick at getting that nasty vomit taste out of his mouth.

Ruby returned and plopped herself down in the chair, cross legged and sitting sideways so she could look at Jaune. She went to say something but he turned and cut her off without realizing, she closed her mouth with a pop, letting him speak.

"How's your team doing? Do Blake and Yang get along?"

"Oh yeah, Team RWBY is doing awesome. Yang and Blake seem really different at first but they're like, uhh what's the best way to say it, they're like the hot and cold water in the shower. Really drastic on their own, but they kinda balance when they're together. And they fight awesome as a pair."

"Wow Ruby, that was a...umm...different analogy. I guess you're right though. And they fight together really well too." Jaune gave her a quizzical look.

"Yeah and me and Weiss are great! I told you that already. But we work really well together too, like she can hold stuff off and then help me get where I need to be to finish it with _Crescent Rose_. We even have bunch of attacks that we practice a lot and I gave them all awesome names so I can just yell the names and we both know what to do. I actually came up with a whole bunch for everybody, like me and Yang or Yang and Weiss and even for all of us together." She began staring a little off to the side as she started counting off different combinations on her fingers and getting all wrapped up in her own explanation. Jaune just sat back and let her go, drinking his coffee and enjoying the brunette's enthusiasm. After she had went on for four or five minutes without really even stopping to take a breath she reached what seemed to be a breaking point in her explanation.

"So you gave some of your attacks names? That's really cool. Can I steal that?" He set down his now empty coffee cup on the table beside him.

"What?" Ruby took a second to remember back to the start of her explanation, "Huh? Oh yeah totally. Go for it. I bet you could have some pretty cool ones, like Hammer Time or Shield Power or ooohhh oohh ohh Flying Lotus!"

"Those are pretty good." He laughed as he stood up, "Thanks. So you wanna go somewhere?" he stood, grabbing his coffee cup and made no motion to sit back down.

"Yeah sure, let's go." Ruby sprang out of her seat, her legs launching her up into the air like a coiled spring, and landed with a solid thunk on the soles of her boots.

They stepped outside and Jaune tossed his cup into a trashcan by the door. He stretched and looked up at the quickly darkening sky. The sun was now most of the way below the gentle waves of the ocean and the street lamps were starting to flicker to life up and down the street. Ruby looked excitedly up and down the street, finding her bearings.

"Come on, this way!" She went jogging off down the street, looking back to ensure Jaune was following her, which he was. He set off at a fast enough pace to catch up to her.

"Wow, slow down there. We've got time, it's dark but it's not that late yet."

Ruby skidded to a stop and turned to face him, "Yeah but the movie starts in like ten minutes and we gotta get snacks."

"Movie? What movie?" Ruby circled around behind the befuddled young man and pushed from behind, sliding him across the ground.

"Only the greatest most awesome movie this year. It's about this huntsman, I forget his name, but he was sent to this village out in the wilderness that was being attacked by a bunch of Grimm. They had been able to hold them off for a while but they needed help. So he gets sent out there and tries to help but it's way worse than the town let on and oh my Oum I'm spoiling the whole movie for you. Just come on."

Jaune stepped forward and began walking under his own power, "Alright already. That sounds awesome, let's go. I love these based on true events hunter movies. Seeing them out there fighting for people reminds me why I want to become a huntsman."

"Yeah and they did a really really good job with this one. They interviewed people from the village who survived and built a full working replica of his weapon for the film and it's so cool. It's this big sword, with like a ton of blades next to each other and he can pull it apart and use them like different swords or put it all together into one huge one." Ruby was in front of Jaune now, skipping backwards as she described the intricacies of this blade she had never seen.

They walked the rest of the way there much like that, with Ruby going over the details of the film that she hoped wouldn't spoil it for Jaune. Like the new effects they used to do the Grimm and the amount of time and detail that went into recreating the town to make it more realistic. By the time they reached the theatre a few minutes later Jaune felt he was ready to take a quiz on the movie without having ever seen it, he was also strangely reminded of how he felt after one of Oobleck's lectures.

"Hi, two for the new Tales of Remnant please." Ruby asked the cashier once they had reached the ticket counter.

"Oh, are you two students at Beacon?"

"Yeah, we're just off for the weekend." Jaune smiled, glad that he at least appeared to strangers as a hunter in training, but then again maybe Ruby looked the part and they just assumed he must be as well.

"Well, Tales of Remnant is discounted for Huntsman and Huntresses, even those in training. It's a thank you for your service from the production company."

"Oh wow, that's awesome!" Ruby handed over a couple bills and the cashier quickly changed them for tickets and handed Ruby her change, "Thanks so much."

"Your welcome, and thank you for what you do for us." The cashier smiled big enough that she closed her eyes. Jaune gave her a little wave as they walked towards the concessions.

"Alright, what kinda snacks?" he looked at Ruby, certain she had some pure chocolate concoction in mind.

"Well we're at the movies so popcorn duh." Ruby walked to the counter and ordered for them. She promptly returned with two full drinks and handed them both to Jaune. "Here, I've gotta go back and get the popcorn." Jaune took the cups from her, confused but trusting her. She returned with a bucket of popcorn so large that he couldn't see her over the top of it.

"Okay lead the way Jaune." She hollered out from behind the mountain of popcorn, "I can not see where I'm going." And then she started walking in the general direction of the theaters without even waiting for a response. Jaune rushed behind her and guided her down the hallway without bumping into anything on the way.

Jaune and Ruby exited the theater a couple hours later. Ruby bouncing about as they walked, staying in front of Jaune and talking as she hopped backwards and swung her hands about in the air.

"And then, when that Deathstalker crushed the house and he jumped above it and pinned it to the ground with all the different swords! Oh my Oum, and he was so fast!"

Jaune was carrying their two empty cups in one hand and had the giant popcorn tub, now empty, in the other. "I really liked the scene where he saved that family that was being attacked by the Ursa. I know it wasn't part of the big fight at the end, but the acting was really good there. You could see how grateful the family was to be saved."

"Oh yeah, those were some of the actual victims. They weren't like a family, and they weren't the people he actually saved from the Ursa but they were people from the town who agreed to be in the film." Ruby fell in beside Jaune as they reached the lobby and there were more people around.

"That's really cool. Thanks for taking me Ruby." Jaune smiled and threw their trash away.

"Oh yeah of course. Thanks for saving me from Weiss. I had a lot of fun." Ruby gave him a quick hug around the waist and then turned to open the door. "If we hurry I think we can make it back before the next airbus leaves, or else we'll have to wait for like an hour."

The two quickly made their way back through town, chatting about the film the entire way. They reached the landing pad though and there was no airbus.

"Awww dang I think we missed it. And it's so cold to have to wait." Ruby sat down on the bench from before and looked up at the broken moon, "At least it's nice out tonight. Not raining or anything."

Jaune stood off to the side behind the bench and leaned forward, peering up into the moon. "Ruby, do you see that?"

"What?"

"There's something up there. Maybe we didn't miss the airbus."

Ruby strained her eyes and saw what he meant, there was a tiny airship making it's way towards the landing pad, growing increasingly larger as it got closer.

"Oh yeah, wow lucky us. I wonder why they're running late?" Ruby and Jaune cleared the pad as the ship landed, shielding their eyes from the blow of dirt and debris that accompanied its landing. The door hissed and popped and several people came out, shaking their heads and muttering to themselves in frustration. Jaune and Ruby watched them curiously and then made their way onto the ship where they were met with the reason.

At the far end of the ship Nora and Yang were standing, with their arms over each other's shoulders, belting out some long melancholy song at the top of their lungs.

"Oh great. Well at least we know they'll get home safe." Ruby sighed as she made her way down towards the two. Jaune just laughed and followed behind, apologizing for his friends to a few of the other passengers still on board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohooo move time and Starbucks **cough cough** I mean Stardust. It's almost like they went on a date without even realizing it...
> 
> Please let me know what you think. Some of the most fun I'm getting with this story so far is predictions since it's already done. With "Clubbin' " I often take the predictions into consideration as I form what will happen. I have a definite plan for that story but it's still malleable and I use a lot of the reasoning I get from you to affect the flow. With this story though, it's all done already so it's great to hear what you think is gonna happen. I love to hear from you all regardless so bring it on.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading so far. 
> 
> -Zach


	5. Team Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JNPR and RWBY go out for a team training session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The mid-day air was warm, being near the ocean meant that Beacon and its surrounding grounds had a fairly mild fall and winter. The trees dropped their leaves and the flowers wilted, but very seldom was there snowfall and most days stayed comfortably warm. This was exactly one of those days. A slight breeze ruffled the trees and wicked a few lazy leaves across the open meadow, drifting erratically through the air like butterflies.

A sharp whipping noise echoed through the clearing and the leaves plummeted to the dirt in pieces. There was a clashing of steel and a flash of red, Ren reeled back _StormFlower_ gripped tightly in an X in front of his face to ward of the blow. Jaune skidded to a halt next to him, shield up and sword at the ready.

"Are you okay Ren? She's so fast." Jaune's eyes were searching the forest canopy, trying to catch a glimpse of red in the sea of green.

"I am unhurt," Ren lowered his pistols and deepened his stance readying for the next assault. A series of clangs rang out from the thicket of trees behind them and Jaune cast a wary glance over his shoulder. "Pyrrha and Nora will be fine Jaune, focus here."

When Ren turned to cast Jaune a sympathetic look he saw nothing but air. Jaune's arms were flailing about as a thick black ribbon pulled his feet towards the dense underbrush. Ren leapt into action, an easy summersault carrying him through the air and over Jaune. As he descended he let loose a volley into the bushes Jaune was so precariously near. The green clad ninja landed, planting his feet on either side of Jaune and continued his assault on the hedge. Jaune had a moment of respite and swung his blade down hard at the ribbon, freeing his legs and immediately scampered to his feet, backpedaling.

Ren leapt back to Jaune's side and raised his guns in a defensive stance as the ribbon recoiled quickly into the undergrowth. Jaune spun in a tight circle, raising his shield just in time to catch a heavy blow from a gigantic red scythe. Ruby's momentum stopped as her blade's progress was halted, she dropped to the ground, landing lightly on her feet, a small look of surprise on her face. There was little time to consider what had just happened as Jaune came charging in, sword held high. Ruby widened her grip on the scythe and prepared to guard against his assault.

A flash of green appeared above her and Ren was firing down, unleashing round after round from his bladed pistols. Ruby spun the scythe in a tight circle above her head, shielding her from the barrage and swung the instrument of death down around her hips, holding the blade now flush across her back between her and Jaune spinning on her heel to face Ren as he landed. Jaune let out a cry as he saw his opportunity to strike. With the opposing leader's back turned he brought his blade down hard.

A loud bang sounded and Jaune hit nothing but air and rose petals, the giggling brunette sailing back into the trees carried on the combined momentum of her sniper rifle and her semblance. Jaune and Ren spun about on their heels, putting their backs together and searching the trees.

"I wasn't worried for them. I was wondering if they could spare a second to help us." Jaune laughed and readied himself for the next assault.

Pyrrha had never realized the complexity of Yang's fighting style before. The boisterous blonde seemed to rely on brute force and overwhelming power to accomplish her victories but now they were met in single combat Pyrrha could see that an intricate pattern of footwork and telegraphing went into her every movement. Yang was always looking to set herself up to deal the destructive force she was known for with maximum effect.

Unfortunately for her, she would never get that chance against the champion tourney fighter. Pyrrha had tapped one of her gauntlets early on in the fight and was now waiting for her opportunity to tap the other. Once that was complete dealing with Yang would simply be a matter of giving her an opening and then tossing her strike slightly off with her semblance and capitalizing on the opening. She had done it a million times before and the blonde, no matter how powerful, would be no different.

Yang yelled defiantly and charged at Pyrrha once more, _Ember Celica_ gleaming in the sun. The gauntlets gave off a series of reports as Yang landed blow after blow on Pyrrha's shield and blade. The redhead was incredibly fast and had a mastery of her weapon that was only even approached by Ruby and _Crescent Rose_. The blade never slipped out of line, the shield never gave an inch, and they were always exactly where Yang didn't need them to be. Pyrrha spun and twirled, ducked and bobbed. Yang knew she was quick but this was uncanny.

As a heavy left hook from Yang was caught on Pyrrha's upraised shield she saw her chance. The girl was crouched low to the ground, right arm high above her head fending off Yang's hook and her other hand was extended to her side, counterbalancing her weight as she spun to her knee. Pyrrha's chest was wide open and exposed, the thin breastplate would be like paper against a direct hit from Yang's dominant hand. She swung wide, putting her shoulder and considerable body weight behind the blow. She felt a light tap on her wrist and found herself facing the opposite direction.

Pyrrha smiled internally, the overconfident blonde had been too easy to bait into that punch. Pyrrha had purposefully left herself overexposed so she could have another chance at magnetizing Yang's firearms and it had paid off in spades. With both of Yang's arms now hers to control, Pyrrha put some distance between the two of them and allowed herself a glance to her teammate but Nora was handling herself just fine. Weiss was definitely more of a supporting fighter on Team RWBY, lacking Blake's speed and not able to put out damage on the same level as Yang or Ruby. Weiss's role seemed to revolve mostly around keeping the other three moving and distracting enemies with a long range volley of dust based attacks. Jaune had seen this in their other encounters and from observing team RWBY practice so he had suggested that Nora simply, hit her with her hammer. This was an idea Nora took to immediately. Pyrrha let a small smile grace her lips as she watched the team's other redhead mercilessly pursue the Schnee through the trees, never letting up in her assault. She would be fine.

Pyrrha returned her attention to the situation at hand and saw a rather furious Yang facing her, fists at her sides, clenched in hard.

"Ohhh ho ho, okay then Nikos. Let's try something different." Yang laughed and lowered

her stance, leveling her fists at Pyrrha as if she was a punching bag. Pyrrha barely had time to raise _Akoúo̱_ before the blows were upon her. Yang had charged straight forward and was battering Pyrrha with blows too fast and hard to count. All she could do was duck behind her shield and pray her aura held longer than Yang's stamina which did not seem like a bright prospect. Jaune had been right in making sure that Pyrrha fought the blonde boxer, no one else on the team would have been able to withstand this sort of barrage. Pyrrha decided enough was enough with a simple flick of her fingers and a light side step sent one of Yang's blows skitting off the side of her shield. Yang stumbled forward from the unexpected miss, hands waving at her sides to regain her balance. Pyrrha spun in a tight circle, _Milo_ above her head and brought it down hard into Yang's lower back. She could hear the girl's aura hum against the blow and followed through with a flex of her shoulder and a twist of her wrist, sending the other girl sprawling in the dirt.

Pyrrha whipped her sword in a circle, raising her shield and leveling Miló by her head and preparing to charge in and drop her aura to the point they had all agreed beforehand counted as a victory. It was as her blade fell to the side of her face that Pyrrha caught sight of something which truly terrified her, a few strands of blonde hair were clinging to the side of her crimson blade. No, Pyrrha had aimed low to avoid this, dust damn that immense mane of hers and how much she cared for it. Pyrrha gasped as a wave of aura buffeted into her with the heat of a forest fire. She braced against the sheer force of Yang's anger and knew she needed to act quickly. The other girl sprang to her feet and turned on her, blood red eyes glaring across the small clearing their battle had caused.

"This was a friendly match Nikos! Now it's personal!" The blonde leapt across the gap separating them, both hands raised above her head, fingers interlocked. Pyrrha pushed back with her semblance but it only served to slow the attack slightly. She hid behind her shield as both of Yang's fists came down hard, a small red wave of energy emitting from where they hit. She pulled her right fist back and landed a blow in the notch on the side of the disc shaped shield. With an extra push from one of _Ember Celica's_ shells Yang broke the champions guard. Pyrrha reeled back from the force and pushed hard with her semblance, pouring her aura into the effort to ward of the furious fighter's punches, dodging each successive blow by a smaller and smaller margin until finally one connected.

The knuckles of Yang fist connected with the top of Pyrrha's crown and sent her facedown into the dirt., Pyrrha caught herself on her hands and knees if only barely and pushed as hard as she could, rolling quickly to the side and raising her shield. That hit had taken a noticeable chunk of her aura out and she was already running low from the effort of diverting Yang's powerful blows. Would the blonde know to stop now? Would she be blinded by her rage and keep fighting, if that happened Pyrrha would have no choice but to defend herself to the full extent of her abilities. She crouched as she came out of her roll and peered over the edge of her shield. Yang was standing at ease now, smiling like a fool and holding up something in her left hand. Pyrrha eased her stance and squinted to see several strands of bright crimson hair.

"Okay, now we're even," Yang laughed heartily and dropped the hairs, "That last blow

was good enough right? You're out of the match?"

Pyrrha let her hands fall to her sides and breathed a sigh of relief, "That it was Yang. Well fought." Pyrrha dipped her brow slightly in a respectful bow to her opponent and replaced her weapons on her back with a light flourish. Yang's grin widened, if that was even possible and she waved.

"Alright, gotta go now." She fired both gauntlets directly at the ground, fired herself up into a tree and ricocheted off towards Nora and Weiss with a loud battle cry. Pyrrha smiled and relaxed her shoulder slightly. She opened her scroll to confirm her suspicions and saw only a tiny sliver of red remaining in her aura bar. The seasoned warrior had a very acute sense of her aura levels and was impressed at the accuracy of the device and that of Yang's perception. She chuckled quietly and retreated from the battlefield, not wanting to interfere in the rest of the match.

Nora heard an ominous yell from behind her and knew she needed to address the inevitable assault from an overpowered blonde that was coming her way. She brought her hammer up in both hands and swung it down directly at Weiss's skull, the nimble girl leapt backwards off the branch she had been perched on, leaving the surface moments before it was blown to pieces by _Magnhild_. Alight flip carried her petite frame through the air and to another branch a considerable distance away. Nora let the momentum of the mighty hammer carry her through a half flip so she was upside down and looking behind her. She saw the blonde coming, flying through the air, fists raised high in anticipation.

"Go help Rubes, I got this!" Weiss needed no further encouragement and placed a glyph at her feet, launching off in the direction of Ruby and Blake's battle. Nora twisted at the waist and planted her feet on the tree, among the shards of the branch she had most recently shattered, still jutting from the mighty trunk. She smiled a devilish smile and screamed as she launched forward to meet Yang's attack.

Jaune swung out with his blade, deflecting _Gambol Shroud_ as it came plummeting out of the dense woods to his right. He stepped back, allowing Ren's flip to carry him between himself and the attacker. Ren let loose, emptying both guns into the brush, clearing away any place for the lithe Faunus to hide. The clearing was now substantially wider than when the battle had begun, Jaune smiled to himself, this was perfect. Ruby and Blake had been trying to bait the two boys into a committed attack and hamper them with constant hidden strikes from the shadows. Blake's stealth and Ruby's speed made it possible for the two girls to work in concert. Blake would strike unseen from the bushes or dark shadows of the trees, distracting them and then Ruby would swoop in, riding a stream of rose petals to deliver devastating strikes with her massive scythe. Jaune and Ren had immediately adopted a strategy of trading off, Jaune tanking the blows as best he could and Ren delivering a flurry of strikes to their attacker. If they could hold them off this way, they might tire them out and cause a change in strategy or buy enough time for Pyrrha or Nora to upset the balance of their scuffle. The second part of Jaune's admittedly brilliant plan was to use Ren's incredible fire rate to clear away Blake's cover. Every time Ren let loose into a shrubbery of cluster of ivy the plants would be shredded and demolished. At this point in the battle Jaune figured that the circle of tattered leaves and splintered wood was reaching the extent of Blake's range and every inch gave him another fraction of a second to react to Ruby's charges. He might not need Pyrrha or Nora to help after all.

Ren slid around behind Jaune again and spun _StormFlower_ by the trigger guards, launching two empty clips into the woods. He dipped his hand quickly into his robe, using his free fingers to grasp two more clips and toss them into the air. He halted the spin of his pistols, holding them barrel down and let the clips fall into place in the guns. A flick of each wrist and they were back in his palms, ready to use. No emotion crossed the boys face, not even a hint of a smile. His eyes kept scanning the woods, combat his sole purpose.

"Jaune, we may have a problem." Ren took a step back and adopted a lower, faster stance as he spoke.

"What?-" Jaune cut himself short and looked to his feet. A steady black glow was coming

from the dirt, an intricate snowflake symbol emanating from the ground, "Oh c'mon! Ren at my feet"

Ren moved without hesitation and crouched at Jaune's feet, peering around his knees as the glyph took hold. Both he and Jaune were now rooted to the ground by Weiss's dust. The heiress landed behind Jaune, _Myrtenaster_ extended towards the boys, channeling her power. Jaune crossed his arms behind his shield and tensed as _Gambol Shroud_ came rocketing out of the distance and slammed into him. He caught the brunt of the light blow, relying on the power of the glyph to steady his feet.

"Go!" Jaune yelled and Ren let loose on Weiss, forcing her to change stance and guard. The glyph at their feet was disrupted as she threw another in front of herself to block Ren's volley. Ren tucked his arms and rolled to the side as Jaune leapt over his head and towards the now exposed Blake. Ren continued his assault, covering Jaune from Weiss by keeping her under constant assault. Jaune charged forward, swinging for the Faunus's neck, he made contact with a sickening crunch, _Crocea Mors_ biting deep. Jaune recoiled at the contact, ripping his blade free from an exact replica of Blake made of ice. He turned forty five degrees to his right and dropped to a crouch, shield at the ready and caught a direct blow from the girl. He swung out as she hand springed away, slicing through a wisp of shadow where she had been.

Jaune followed her retreat and glanced over her shoulder. A bright pink blotch was making its way through the trees towards them and he smiled. Jaune charged forward, pressing his attack. He swung for her legs and Blake leapt straight up into air, she twisted about seemingly defying gravity and kicked at the tree to her side sending herself several yards away and landing in a roll. Jaune kicked off the ground and charged, he spun on his heel, keeping his shield between them and catching the katana's brought his sword up in an arc causing the girl to dodge roll under the sweep and away. She came up in a crouch and smiled, Jaune was over extended and no where near as fast as her, she flipped her blade around and flexed her legs to pounce and saw Jaune…smiling.

Nora whooped as _Magnhild_ came down hard on Blake's exposed back, flattening the girl to the ground. Blake groaned as she hit the ground and shook her head. Beaten by Jaune and Nora, she would never live this down.

"Alright Nora! Hurry, Arc Cannon," Jaune strapped his shield to his back and gripped his sword with both hands.

"YES!" Nora lurched forward and prepared her hammer. Jaune tensed and closed his eyes, "Ready Jaune?" Nora asked and Jaune opened his eyes, uncertain. But, Nora didn't wait, she slammed him in the back and sent him flying towards Weiss. Jaune screamed a very unmanly yell as he went sailing through the air, sword gripped tightly in both hands. Weiss spun away from Ren and towards the incoming, wailing young man. She raised her rapier in a guard and threw a glyph desperately in the way but it was no use. Jaune came smashing down with a sound of shattering glass as the glyph flew to pieces. He rammed into Weiss hard, both of them falling to the ground.

Jaune rolled off his back and away from Weiss, he removed his shield and readied for combat, but a blinking red light caught his eye. He threw his hands up in the air.

"I'm out! I'm out!" he yelled, praying no one would hit him. A small gust of wind ruffled his hair and he turned to look behind him, catching sight of a single rose petal on his shoulder. He slowly finished his turn and saw the tip of _Crescent Rose_ centimeters from his neck. Ruby smiled at him and did a quick backflip to avoid a barrage from Ren. Jaune turned back to Weiss who was still on the ground, "You okay, Snow Flake?"

He extended a hand to help her up but was promptly refused.

"That is the most barbaric, heathenistic, unreformed attack I have ever seen. What made you think that was a good idea?" She picked herself up and began beating at her soiled combat skirt in an attempt to get the dirt out of it.

"Hey it worked didn't it?"

"Hardly. You were just as injured as I. An attack that disables you as well as your opponent is not-" Weiss was caught off guard by the sound of bullets ricocheting off of Jaune's upraised shield.

"Let's get out of here." Jaune grabbed Weiss by the hand and pulled her out of the line of fire.

"Unhand me you savage. I am perfectly capable of leaving a combat zone." Jaune ignored the heiress's cries as he drug her away.

Resounding booms echoed in the forest as Nora expanded on Jaune's clearing. She wielded _Magnhild_ with an efficiency that would put Remnant's greatest lumberjacks to shame, clearing nearly an acre of dense forest in a matter of seconds with her dust powered grenade launcher.

"Nowhere left to hide Ruby!" she called out to the smoldering woods. Ren came to her side defensively. A flash of red drew both of their eyes up and they dashed apart, narrowly avoiding _Crescent Rose's_ massive blade as it dug deep into the ground where they had been.

"Not hiding." Ruby smiled as she yanked the scythe free with a backflip and kicked off the ground towards Nora. She chased the other diminutive girl down, relying on the reach of her scythe and her incredible speed to push her back. Nora was able to dodge most of her strikes, taking a few glancing blows with grace, floating the hits and letting the force carry her farther from the reaper now pursuing her. Ren followed, hot on Ruby's tail, attempting to get in close to strike but the way that Ruby whirled the scythe about herself made it nearly impossible to find an opening, the girl seemed to be surrounded by a constant whirlwind of metal. Ren knew though that she couldn't maintain this pace for long, she was a talented fighter but even her stamina had it's limits, so he patiently waited and prepared to deliver his blow.

The scythe came whirling about, obliterating the side of a tree where Nora had just been, the force of the blow launching the girl back several hundred feet. Ruby took advantage of the distance to rest a moment, letting the scythe fall into place at her hip. Ren did not hesitate at all, he launched himself at her exposed back, firing away rapidly with both pistols. She ducked the majority of the barrage but he had expected that, he had to close the gap and strike her with his blades to do serious damage. He landed behind her, bringing his guns down in a sweeping motion to strike the broad of her back but was launched backwards with a resounding bang. As he flew through the forest, his limp form smashing through branches as his aura soaked up the damage he looked down to see the little huntress flying the opposite direction, propelled by the force of her sniper rifle towards Nora. Ren sighed and kicked his legs up, carrying him up and over to land on his feet near the top of a tree.

"Come on down Ren. You're done." Ren looked down to see his team leader standing at the base of the tree, pointing to the aura meters on the back of his shield. He nodded in consent and stepped off the branch, landing lightly on the ground next to Jaune.

"She is a formidable opponent."

"That's my baby sis," Yang was there with the rest of the fighters who had been knocked out, "Looks like it's just the two of them now."

Nora saw Ren go flying off into the distance and felt a twinge of anger touch her. She flipped _Magnhild_ around into its projectile form and unleashed a series of shells at the brunette barreling towards her. Every time she fired the girl would veer off course with her semblance, ricocheting off of trees and boulders as she dodged the pink explosions. Ruby arrived at the base of the tree and spun the great scythe around, going straight through the trunk in a single swing. Nora leapt as her perch fell out from underneath her, flipping _Magnhild_ back into a hammer and falling directly towards her target. Ruby jumped backwards, avoiding the hit and the immense shock wave as the hammer struck the ground, shattering the forest floor into large chunks.

Ruby planted her feet against a tree trunk and bunched herself up, she launched forward, straight past Nora into another tree, bounced off that one into a third tree and repeated this until she was a dizzying blur of metal and rose petals. Nora swung out with her hammer in vain attempts to catch her mid flight but struck air every time. As she overextended herself into a swing she felt a cool touch against her back and her aura dropped drastically and then the touch was gone. Nora turned to see Ruby standing behind her, panting hard and doubled over.

"Ruby you are sooo fast! That was incredible!" Nora ran forward and gave the other team's leader a hug, lifting her off the ground, scythe and all.

"Oh Nora ow" Ruby groaned as the other girl crushed her ribcage with her bear hug. Nora put her down and rubbed the back of her head.

"Oops, sorry" they both laughed and Ruby spun _Crescent Rose_ back into its compact form, replacing it on her back holster. The rest of the two teams came over the top of the crater Ruby and Nora were inhabiting and called down.

"Who won?"

The small courtyard glowed in the late afternoon sun, any breeze from earlier in the day having petered out a few hours ago. The afternoon was warmer than most would have liked but the hanging ivy and lattice work of tresses kept the small courtyard comfortably cool. The slow burble of a fountain mingled with the two teams idle chatter.

Jaune fell back against the deck chair with an exhausted and exaggerated sigh. "Agghh you girls sure ran me ragged." The girls all snickered and Ren smiled slightly.

"It was a good workout. We should train like this more." Pyrrha smiled as she took a seat near Jaune, crossing her legs at the knees and leaning slightly in his direction. Ren and Nora both sat on a long chair which was most likely intended for laying on but could easily accommodate the two of them side by side with a respectable gap remaining between the pair. Team RWBY followed them in and took up spots on chairs which completed a sort of half circle around a small fire pit which lay cold and unused at this time of year.

"It was sooo great," Nora was still giddy with being the last standing member of her team, "It was like we were being hunted down in the woods by a merciless group of- uhhh- huntresses I guess. And they got us one by one until I was the only one left and I had to fight them off but eventually fell to their power." Nora began formulating the plot of a bad B movie about inter-hunter conflict in her head, growing more excited with every twist.

"Yeah and we got to see just how strong you all are. That was some incredible stuff Ruby." Jaune picked himself up and addressed the other team leader.

"What? Noooo, I just got lucky there at the end, they were both already so low from their other fights." Ruby deferred the praise with a wave of her hand, if Yang hadn't dealt with Pyrrha or Blake hadn't helped me keep you and Ren busy. Plus Nora must have been tired from chasing Weiss."

Nora turned at her name, "Not as tired as Yang though. I crushed her right when she got to me! So much for the invincible Xiao Long."

"Oh okay, let's see how you look after taking down the champion of Mistral." Yang was indignant, crossing her arms with a huff.

"Oh yes, Yang fought incredibly well." Pyrrha smiled and turned to the blonde, "I am sorry again about your hair." Weiss, Ruby and Blake all recoiled in shock.

"You hurt her hair?" Blake was the first able to speak.

"And you're still with us?" Weiss regained her composure, forcing her facial features back into place and correcting her posture.

"Yaaang! It's a sparring match, that's gonna happen! Stop getting so mad!" Ruby had turned and was beating playfully on her sister's shoulder with tiny clenched fists.

"Oh it was quite fun though. Her power was incredible when she got angry." Pyrrha hid a small laugh behind her hand.

"Yeah, maybe next time we hunt Grimm we should just cut a few strands off and let Yang deal with them all." Jaune's laughter went silent as he opened his eyes and caught Yang's furious glare.

"You touch my hair and you'll be the first thing I 'deal with' Arc." Jaune's blood would have run cold from the threat if not for the heat emanating from Yang.

"Big talk for someone who got their butt kicked." Nora literally poked Yang in the forehead and her eyes snapped back to a tranquil purple and she laughed.

"Yeah yeah, let's go one on one and see what happens." A competitive grin flashed across Yang's face.

"Any time blondie. Let's go right now." Nora jumped up from her seat and Yang went to stand but Ren pulled Nora back to the chair with a single swift hand at her collar.

"Nora, we are not allowed to spar openly on school grounds," Ren's calm demeanor never broke and his eyes were actually fixed on Yang as she relaxed in her seat, "Definitely not anymore."

"That was one time and Goodwitch fixed everything super quick anyways." Nora crossed her arms in a pout.

"Oh yeah," Ruby snorted out a laugh, "It took so long to get all the ketchup and stuff out of our hair." Yang solemnly stroked her mane, remembering the horrific aftermath of the food fight.

"At least they still allow us to train in the forest. Those training rooms are just so cramped and leave no room for the kinds of maneuvers our styles require." Weiss turned to Jaune, "Thank you so much for the idea. It really was a wonderful opportunity."

"Oh yeah of course, I just thought it would be fun to see how we've all grown since we fought that Nevermore and the Death Stalker together at initiation." Jaune rubbed the back of his head abashedly.

"Well we have certainly all grown since then. Your teamwork has improved significantly Ruby. You must have been pushing your team very hard." Pyrrha turned to inspect the small girl, whose legs didn't even reach the floor as she kicked her heavy combat boots back and forth carelessly.

"Oh yeah, we've been training a lot. But we just work together really well. I'm lucky I got such a great team." She smiled back, her grin pushing her eyes shut.

"I know what you mean. I don't know what I would have done without everyone. They really are dragging me along with them." Jaune leaned back in his chair, complete honesty evident in his self deprecation.

"Jaune. You don't give yourself enough credit. You are a fantastic leader." Pyrrha turned on him.

"Yes Jaune, you've turned us into a team." Ren nodded solemnly.

"Nobody else would have seen through Blake's plan to hit you from the treeline and pairing Nora off against Weiss was a perfect mismatch." Ruby turned her infectious grin on Jaune.

"I guess. I just try to put everybody where they fit best." Jaune straightened a bit, heartened by the praise from all his friends.

"Yeah you're directions are great, hit 'em with my hammer. My favorite thing to do!" Nora punched both of her fists into the air in glee.

"Oh I noticed. We may have to move our training area to somewhere more durable if Nora's level of destruction remains that high. I do believe we did more deforestation than a month's work by an SDC logging crew." Weiss smiled slightly, "perhaps a bank vault, or the inside of a mountain would be more suitable."

"Not likely, I'd just bring it down on all of us. Ultimate destruction!" Nora laughed maniacally.

"We can try lots of different places," Ruby laughed at Nora's excitement, "Different layouts will make our training more realistic. Wanna plan some days later Jaune? We can go out for coffee again and talk it all over."

"Ooooh Ruby, look at you, you sly dog." Yang jabbed her jokingly in the arm, "Using 'training' as an excuse to go out with Jaune." She laughed out loud as Ruby's face was covered in a bright red blush.

"Wuh? Huh? No. Nononononono. That's not what I mean. Really. It's just that it would be easier to plan it like that. And we went out the other night when you and Nora were dancing and had a lot of fun. And we need to plan these things to make them work. Jaune's a team leader and I'm a team leader and so we have to meet about things. It's not that I wouldn't or that I don't want to. But, I don't want to. I mean Jaune's great but that might be weird. I never even thought about-" Ruby rattled off every explanation she could think of and threw in some others for good measure before she was cut off by Jaune.

"Relax Ruby, I knew what you meant."

"Honestly, how did you ever grow up with her for a sister and still get so flustered by her jokes?" Weiss shook her head in disbelief.

Ruby's blush turned to a grin of embarrassment and she looked at the floor some distance away, "I don't know. She's just always does that," Yang laughed and clapped Ruby on the back.

"Love you too sis." She stood and stretched her arms high above her head, "Well I'm gonna hit the gym a little before bed. Nora you wanna come?"

Nora jumped at the prospect, "Of course! Let's go see who can bench or squat more. I will be the strongest!" Nora screamed and ran out of the seating area towards the gym.

"Alright then, anybody else?" the rest of the group shook their heads emphatically at Yang's offer, "See ya later then." Yang donned her sunglasses against the sunset's glare and headed off after Nora, albeit at a much more leisurely pace.

"Unbelievable, how can those two keep going?" Weiss watched in disbelief as they left.

"I was actually planning on a run after we finished here. And Jaune and I have our nightly swordsmanship practice still to do." Pyrrha stood slowly.

"Oh yeah," Jaune chuckled, "We do don't we?"

"Yes Jaune, you must keep it up. I will see you on the roof at seven." Pyrrha gave him a smile and then a polite nod to everyone else as a group before being carried away by her long legs.

Blake stood and spoke for the first time since they had arrived, "I believe I'll go to the library to study. "Jaune." a light nod, "Ren" The boy smiled politely.

"Oh wow, I guess we're all breaking up then huh? I'm gonna go sleep some before I have to train then." Jaune stood and shook out his tired legs, "You coming Ren?"

The boy stood slowly and made his way to Jaune's side.

"Thanks again for today Ruby. Everyone really enjoyed it and it was good practice." Jaune smiled from ear to ear."

Ruby returned his smile, "Yeah! Thanks, we really should do it again soon."

"Definitely. I'll see you two later." Jaune waved to them and Ren bowed his head slightly and the two boys left Weiss and Ruby alone under the setting sun.

"Well that was quite the afternoon." Weiss allowed her posture to relax now that it was just her and her partner, "I can't believe Yang beat Pyrrha."

"That's Yang for ya, it must have been because Pyrrha hurt her hair though." Ruby curled up in her chair, tucking her knees between her chest and the armrest so she could sit sideways and face Weiss. The heiress simply reclined slightly against the opposite armrest of her chair facing Ruby in a much more dignified manner.

"So what are your plans for the evening Miss Team Leader?" Weiss shot her a quizzical stare.

"Well I should probably take Zwei for a walk, he's been cooped up all day." Ruby put a finger to her chin and stared up at the sky through the crisscrossing wooden beams and veins above them, "Then I guess I'll play some games or calibrate _Crescent Rose_ for a while."

"Up pup pup, no no. You will coming with me to the room to study. We can take Zwei for his walk, but only because that's your responsibility. Then we must work on your school work."

"Uggggghhhh but Weeiiiisss. We've been training all day. Can't I have a little time off?"

"Was anyone else taking time off Ruby? No, they all left to exercise or rest for more training. Just because you won doesn't mean you can slack off." Weiss leveled her most authoritative gaze at the pouting young girl.

"Fine, fine. Let's go get it over with." Ruby stood but let her arms fall slack at her sides and stared despondently at the ground.

"To Study" Weiss jumped up and pointed in the direction of their dorm room with an attempt at Ruby's usual level of excitement.

"Oh yeah… Wooooo… Studying." a subdued Ruby raised a lax arm to point before trudging off to her torture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a long one wasn't it? I know, the fight scene was over two thirds of the chapter but to a bunch of Huntresses and Huntsmen in training their combat is really important so I let the little training session take center stage for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and that it wasn't too boring. I really really like writing fight scenes and occasionally they will get away from me, I actually had to trim this one down considerably because the chapter was approaching 10k words... So, please oh please let me know what you thought. If it was boring tell me, if it was exciting tell me, if it was so dull that you skimmed right through it please let me know (also go back and read it please). The only form of feedback I get on these is your reviews and PMs. i don't have an editor or a spell checker or anything so I rely on my wonderful readers to tell me when I'm doing a horrible job.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading the story so far. Chapter 6 will be out on Thursday along with another chapter of "Clubbin' " so please watch out for those.
> 
> -Zach


	6. Shining Bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cardin just won't learn, but maybe Jaune isn't quite so dense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Beacon was a proud prestigious Academy with a reputation for training not only some of the most skilled huntsmen and huntresses in all of Remnant but also some of the most noble, courageous and virtuous combatants to ever take the field of battle. Alongside the strict training regimens imposed by the staff and students alike, the heavy course load of strategy, history, theory and Grimm biology there was also a rigid code of ethics at the Academy. Every student at Beacon was preparing to become a defender of the people, a paragon of virtue and a light shining against the ever present onslaught of darkness their world faced. This meant they were held to a higher standard than nearly anyone else on the face of Remnant, expectations of these young men and women were high and they rarely failed to live up to them. There were a few however who had reached Beacon for all the wrong reasons and posed a constant reminder of what the others had to rise above.

"C'mon sweety, bunnies are supposed to breed a lot right? I'm as good as it gets around here honey." Cardin Winchester put a hand over the young Faunus girl's shoulder, resting on the wall behind her and effectively pinning her between him and the building. He had not touched her yet but she could feel his presence bearing down on her, smell his breath and his bodily stench falling off him in waves.

"Stop it," she pleaded with him, "please stop. Just leave me alone." The girl cowered down beneath his hungry gaze, clutching her lunch tray with white knuckled fingers. Her large bunny ears fell flat against the back of her head in fear and let out a small whimper when he refused to move.

"I'm better than any faunus garbage you might find around here that's for sure." He gave her a cocky grin, "I'm giving you the chance of a lifeteam here, to be with a real human boy. And a Winchester at that." He straightened his back in pride, taking his weight off of the wall but not giving her any more room to breathe. When she didn't respond he moved forward to put his large meaty hands on her shoulders.

"Pffff.. Cause anyone would want to be with a Winchester." A voice called out from behind Cardin, mocking him and laughing at the thought of him being irresistible, or even attractive in the least. Cardin turned, anger on his face and saw a diminutive brunette standing there, holding her lunch tray covered in sweets with a large cup of milk.

"Get out of here, no one wants you here." Cardin waved a dismissive hand at her and and went to turn back to his victim who had been unable to move.

Ruby completely ignored him, shifting her tray over to hold with one hand she reached out towards the two, "Velvet, it's alright. Come with me." Velvet looked around Cardin and saw Ruby's outstretched hand, her eyes shown and a glimmer of hope streaked across her face but flashed away as quickly as it had come when Cardin pounded his fist on the wall behind her and turned back to Ruby.

"I said leave it you little bitch. Go back to kindergarden where you belong." Cardin took a step towards Ruby. Velvet took her chance and dipped out from behind him, circling wide around him to make her way behind Ruby. She stood there, cowering slightly still, back and knees bent in an attempt to hide behind the much smaller girl, but she did not run.

"You need to stop right now." Ruby turned away from him and put her hand on Velvet's shoulder, "Are you okay Velvet?"

"Yeah," She nodded her head and looked up to meet Ruby's steely silver gaze still locked on her, "Yes, I'm okay now." Velvet stood a little taller and Ruby turned back to Cardin.

"Oh no, I'm not done with her." Cardin strode forward and Ruby stood tall, ready to meet his advance. He came toe to toe with her and stared down at the little girl. Cardin wasn't just tall, he was large, broad in the shoulders with a square head and hard chin. He stood over Ruby and the top of her head barely reached the base of his sternum. Cardin clenched his fists and his eyes filled with rage at her defiance, no one shamed Cardin Winchester, especially not some little brat who belonged back home with her parents.

"Leave us alone Cardin." Ruby turned on her heel, completely ignoring the boy, took Velvet's hand in her own and pulled her away. Cardin's hard expression broke into one of anger and he lunged out to grasp Ruby by the shoulder.

Another hand stopped him by grabbing his wrist. Cardin's eyes swung up to lock with none other than Jaune Arc. Ruby stopped and turned at the sound, she and Velvet both let out a little gasp when they saw what was happening.

"Don't even think about it Cardin. Yang will kick your ass if you touch her sister." Cardin jerked his hand out of Jaune's grip.

"Don't even start with me Arc. Screw off."

"You walk away and I'll walk away." Juane lowered his hand but did not step down even slightly. He stood tall and stared the larger boy down.

"I said screw off!" Cardin raised a clenched fist behind himself, preparing to swing on the boy but stopped himself short. Over Jaune's shoulder he could see Professor Goodwitch, riding crop in hand and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Fine. You know what. It's not worth it. Take your little girlfriend and get out of here. Who wants to bang a faunus anyway, I might get a weird bunny disease or something." Cardin dropped his fist and stormed off, casting a single derisive glance at Ruby and Velvet as he turned. After the boy was far enough gone Jaune let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"That was pretty tense there for a minute huh?" he turned back to Velvet and Ruby who were smiling from ear to ear now, well Ruby was, Velvet looked more relieved than anything and her ears were no longer flattened against her skull.

"Jaune that was great. You stood up to him again." Ruby bounced up on her toes in excitement.

"Yeah, I guess beating him in that match the other day really helped," John chuckled and rubbed the back of his head shyly.

It was then that Coco, the leader of team CVFY, and Yatsuhashi, their silent hulking sword wielder, approached the group.

"Hey Velv, you doing okay?" Coco was dressed as fashionably as ever, light colored beret slightly off center on her head, sunglasses over her eyes even indoors.

"Yeah, I'm good." Velvet smiled and walked over to stand defensively between her teammates. Yatsuhashi gave her a serious look and she sighed a little and looked at the ground, ears drooping. He gently reached down and patted her shoulder and then relieved her of her tray, carrying now both of theirs in his massive grip. She lightened slightly and looked back to Jaune and Ruby, "Thank you, for helping me with him."

They both returned her smile quite genuinely.

"Of course, you can't let him mess with you like that." Ruby said gently but with an

underlying firmness she had learned to adopt as part of her 'leader voice'.

"Yeah anytime Velvet, we were happy to help." Jaune gave her and her team an exaggerated thumbs up. Coco let her lips slide into an easy smile, the firmness and worry for her teammate now relaxed.

"Thanks guys, she's getting better but Velv still needs a hand now and then. I'm glad you were here." Coco gave them a polite nod and led the trio away.

Ruby turned to Jaune and wrapped her free arm around his middle for a quick side hug and pulled away. "Oh Jaune thank you. Cardin was being so thick." Jaune shied away from the contact at first but stopped as she grabbed him in her embrace. He held both hands up away from her and looked away, embarrassed by the touch.

"Oh.. uhh… yeah," he laughed a little to try and relax himself, "Isn't he always though?" Jaune put his arms down as she stepped away. Ruby laughed and turned to head to their usual lunch table where the rest of their two teams were already sitting. Jaune skipped over to a nearby empty table where he had left his food, a plate stacked high with veggies and red meat, and grabbed it before jogging to catch back up with Ruby's slower pace.

They reached the table and waved their hellos to the group assembled there. Yang cast them a sidelong glance down the length of the table as they sat next to one another near the end of the group.

"And what were you two up to? Hmmm? More planning for training?" Yang threw the comment down at them like a curveball meant to fluster Ruby and catch Jaune off guard. Unfortunately for Yang, the implications sailed right over her sister's innocent little head without effect.

"No, we stopped to help Velvet. Cardin was bullying her again, being really mean." Ruby smiled and dug into her pile of sweet pastries.

Yang sat up at the unexpected answer, her joking smile exchanged for a worried frown, "Are you alright Rubes? He didn't do anything did he?"

"Wuh? Mmh-hmm." Ruby shook her head in denial as she swallowed a mouthful of cinnamon bun. "I think he was going to but then Jaune got there and he backed off." Pyrrha smiled warmly at Jaune and he barreled right on through with the conversation.

"It wasn't that big of a deal. I just reminded him he'd have to answer to you if he did anything." Jaune laughed as Yang's face returned to a broad smile.

"You're damn right he would. I'm just glad it worked out." the hulking blonde relaxed back down and returned to her food.

"Well it was very brave of you two," Blake nodded at both of them, "Thank you." Jaune seemed confused at Blake's compassion but Ruby gave her a knowing smile and a not so subtle wink. There was a loud thump and they all looked over to see Ren holding Nora by the back of her collar, the fiery redhead's butt planted firmly on the ground.

"You heard them Ren. He was being mean to Velvet!" she whined like a child at the grocery store being denied a candy, "That means I get to break his legs right?"

"No Nora. That is not what that means." Ren used only one hand to restrain her and allowed the other to rest calmly in his lap. She crossed her arms in indignation and he released her, knowing that she would not leap away once he had spoken on the matter.

* * *

Ruby stepped out into the hallway, it was late and she just wanted a little walk around the dorms before heading to bed. Pacing the quiet hallways gave her a sense of peace, the happy noises of teams chatting and laughing mumbling under doors, the gentle knock of the breeze against the high glass windows at the ends of the hallways, the occasional encounter with a fellow classmate making their way to or from some last minute activity of their own. Ruby used the time to decompress and work out any stress she might have built up during the day, plus it didn't hurt to not be in the room while Yang and Weiss bickered over bathroom time and how long Weiss took to wash her face and waste all the hot water or how many hairs Yang got clogged in every drain she could find. Ruby breathed a small sigh of relief, as she came to the end of the hallway and stared out the window at the rising moon, huge shards of rock floating in space seemed so tranquil from here, casting their easy white light down on the peaceful campus.

A steady, quiet thumping grew closer next to her and Ruby slowly turned to find Jaune ascending the stairs to their floor. He looked haggard, sweat clearly sheening on his forehead, matting down his hair and darkening his hoody under his armour.

"More training with Pyrrha?" Ruby greeted Jaune as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Oh hey Ruby," he looked up from watching his feet to meet her, "I don't know how she does it. Guess where she is now?"

"Headed to the showers?" Ruby plugged her nose and waved her hand in mock disgust at Jaune's post-workout smell.

"Oh sorry," Jaune smiled, "No, she headed back down to the gym, said she had some lifts to get in still tonight."

"Well she is a champion, that's what it takes." Ruby looked back out the window, staring up at the moon. Jaune sighed a little, leaning against the railing endcap and stared out the window as well. They shared a moment of silence before Ruby made a small noise, halfway between a cough and clearing her throat. Jaune looked down and saw her fidgeting with the hem of her sweatpants, slowly tracing her thumb over one of the small embroidered pink hearts.

"Is something wrong?" Jaune's voice startled Ruby, bringing her out of her trance like state.

"No… umm yeah? I just. I wanted to thank you Jaune, for today?" Ruby turned from the window and Jaune could read the sincerity in her deep silver eyes. He saw her nervousness, the expectancy in her stare and the reluctance in the way she kept her shoulders slumped slightly forward and her hips slightly back, retreating from him without moving. A lump caught in Jaune's throat, why was she so nervous with him? She continued on in his silence.

"It's just that I'm usually so confident. And I wanted to help Velvet because she's so nice. But, when I tried and Cardin started calling me names and yelling at me like that." She stopped and turned back to the window, staring out a moment to gather herself before she continued, "I tried to just leave before anything happened, I wouldn't have let him hurt me but I can't just fight him when we aren't in class."

"Hey Ruby," Jaune broke in, the compassion and care of a team leader and a friend in his voice, soothing Ruby's ruffled emotions, "It's okay. You did help Velvet and Cardin's dumb but he's not dumb enough to try anything with you. He knows he doesn't stand chance, not to mention what Yang or Nora would do to him."

Ruby sniffled a little as she laughed, relieving some of her tension, "Yeah I just… thank you Jaune. For helping me then- and now." She turned and gave him a half hearted smile, doing her best to look strong despite the redness under her eyes, "Here, let's head back." Ruby turned back down the hallway towards their rooms and slowly walked down the hall. Jaune followed after her, letting his longer legs even out the gap before matching pace by her side. They walked down the hall together in silence, listening to the soft padding of Jaune's shoes and Ruby's bare feet against the thick, plush carpet. They reached their opposing dorms and Jaune reached for the knob while Ruby turned and leaned against the wall. Jaune stopped and released the door knob.

"Do you always walk around the halls at night?" he looked over to her, she hadn't touched her knob yet.

"Yeah, it can get a little loud in there," she nodded her head over her shoulder at the door to her room, "and I need time to think and slow down before bed."

"You? Slow down? Who are you and what have you done with Ruby?" they both laughed a little awkwardly at Jaune's badly delivered joke, "So you gonna go in now then?" Ruby paused and listened at the door. They could both hear a rather irate heiress attempting to lecture Yang on proper brush cleaning and the need to keep one's hair out of a shared plumbing system.

"Not quite yet, I think I'll give it one more lap. Goodnight Jaune, but for Ren and Nora's sake, please shower," she laughed a little and started to head off.

"Goodnight Ruby," Jaune tapped his scroll near the lock and and turned the knob but didn't pull. He looked down the hallway to where Ruby was already a few paces away, "Hey Ruby." she turned, "Sleep well."

"Sweet dreams Jaune." Ruby gave him one last grin and then headed back on her journey. Jaune shook his head slowly and stepped into his room, a little smile on his lips.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first of all to address a concern I get a lot, in a lot of my stories. Yeah I made Cardin really really harsh in this. I made him much more racist and terrible than he is really shown as being in the canon. I know, but, I absolutely hate the guy and I feel like if RWBY was not in any way intended for younger audiences to be able to watch, and if they weren't dealing with much more serious threats like death and dismemberment that Cardin would be a lot worse. So, I made him a lot worse since the characters here aren't dealing with those threats and because I have rated this as a "T" story meaning I assume my audience can handle it. If you think through some f the things that Cardin does, even in the show, he is actually really, really bad.
> 
> Okay, so other than that. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter even if it was a little short. It's sort of an in between chapter, leading up to the two that will come out over the weekend. There will be two more over the weekend and they will be longer than this one, so you will have plenty of "Friends and Loved Ones" to read until Tuesday
> 
> Also, a note of kinda sadness here is that I will no be posting from June 30 to July 5 because I will be in LA for Anime Expo (I'll be cosplaying as Major'a Mask Skull Kid if you're there). Then again I will not post from July 19 to July 25 because I will be in San Diego for Comic Con (same cosplay again). So, my last post will be Tuesday June 28, then July 7 I'll start back up and stop again on July 17 and return on July 26. That said, I may post some little stuff in between those dates, maybe some one shots I have been kicking around in my head and that but there won't be updates to my major stories "Clubbin' " and "Friends and Loved Ones". I just won't have the time to give these stories that I feel they deserve or the time to respond to all your comments and reviews that I know you deserve.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, sorry the note at the end here got kinda long, I guess I had a lot to say this time. Please tell me what you though (even if it's about Cardin).
> 
> -Zach


	7. Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Jaune stepped into his relatively quiet dorm room. The only sound coming from anyone in his room was the soft drone of music coming from Nora's headphones. The girl was hyperactive, easily excitable, and even more impulsive than a certain little brunette but when she chose to relax she was quite capable of sitting on her bed for hours, listening to a wide variety of music from full operas to hard metal and punk. Sometimes she would just lay out on her bed, kicking her legs and drumming her hands to the music. Other times, like now, she used the music as a way of shutting out the outside world so she could focus on something like her studies or a book. It was when Nora did this that the JNPR dorm room was at it's most peaceful.

Ren was sitting in the middle of the floor, in the small gap between the two sets of beds. His legs were crossed in a peculiar fashion, with his feet resting on top of his knees in a way that forced his back straighter and stretched his legs slightly. Jaune had not understood the quiet boy at first, his calm demeanor and nearly mute personality was hard to come to terms with and even harder to try and bond with. But, as they spent more and more time together Jaune learned that the boy wasn't necessarily quiet or soft spoken, he just chose his words very carefully and made every utterance count. Beside the fact that he was content to let others speak their minds and was always a willing listener. Except for during his meditation.

Everybody had their way of finding inner peace at the end of the day. Nora and her music, Pyrrha exercised like a woman possessed, Ruby did laps of the dorm building's hallways apparently and Ren, Ren meditated for a solid hour every night and his team respected him and his practices enough to never disturb him.

So, Jaune, seeing that his teammates were settling in for the evening, slowly closed the door behind him with a soft click. He sat down on the edge of his bed lightly and began removing his shoes. Jaune would normally pry them off the back of his feet with the toe of the opposite shoe and worry about unlacing them in the morning but tonight the room was quiet and peaceful and he had a lot on his mind. So, he began the slow process of undoing the muddled knots his laces formed throughout the day and loosening the shoes until he could slide them off with ease. He then removed his socks, chest plate and sweater so he was down to just jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He quickly hampered his dirty clothes in the bathroom and began scrubbing his armour.

His weapons were kept in a rocket powered locker alongside the rest of the student's gear but his chest plate never left him. He cleaned and polished it every evening and stored it under his bed to be donned the next day without fail. Some of the only times he was without it were on journeys into the city, when he could allow himself to relax, no longer a soldier in training but a citizen enjoying the peace and prosperity they all worked so hard to defend. Once his armour was satisfactorily cleaned and cared for he stowed it under his bunk and headed for the shower.

Each room at Beacon was home to a full team, four students who would be together for their entire time at the school. Regardless of gender they shared a single room as they would share every responsibility and duty as a unit. This meant that each room got its own bathroom which was to be used and respected by the entire team. Luckily for Jaune growing up with seven sisters and many fewer than seven bathrooms meant that he was used to having to wait his turn for a shot at the facilities and had developed a rather rapid evening routine. His showers took no more than three minutes and perhaps another three went to cleaning his teeth and face at the sink. He was done and out in under ten minutes without fail everytime, not because he was ever rushing himself, just because that's how long it took him to do what he needed to do.

He finished drying himself off and donned a grey long sleeve shirt and a pair of soft sweatpants to sleep in before re-emerging into the room. He had only been back with his team for perhaps twenty or thirty minutes but it appeared that Ren was already finished with his meditation as he was now sitting calmly at one of their desks, running a small cleaning brush through the barrel of one his identical pistols. One aspect of his teammates complicated weapons that Jaune did not envy was the heavy maintenance required. Although they seemed to do it without thought, he was glad that he simply needed to clean his gear and hone his blade's edge. Jaune sat down on his bed, resting his skull on the headboard and stared at the ceiling without a word.

What was going on? What were these thoughts running through his mind? He closed his eye to try and focus but the harsh fluorescent lighting of the room pierced the thin membrane of his eyelids and caused him to see a soft red blur instead of the darkness he was looking for. Jaune groaned and threw his arms across his eyes to block out the light. In the darkness of his obscured vision Jaune was finally able to begin processing what he was feeling. Maybe he needed some sort of routine for clearing his mind on evenings like this.

Jaune had been convinced that his natural good looks and his over confident personality and general talent at talking to and being relaxed around women would mean that he would have an easy time with girls at Beacon. Perhaps he had failed to realize that here, every single person was nearing athletic perfection for their body type, here every girl he put his eyes on was confident enough to slam a door in his face. He had nothing against the shyer females at Beacon like Velvet or Blake and he even thought Velvet's ears were kinda cute. That just wasn't really his type, Jaune was pulled to more confident over spoken women, maybe because his sisters were so loud and domineering that he didn't know how to be with someone who was quiet.

So he had started after Weiss with a passion, how could she say no? Sure she was rich and powerful and above it all but he was a fellow hunter in training and that put them on an even playing field right? Never had he been so wrong. He had mental scars and tales to tell of all the different ways he had propositioned Weiss and the single way she always shot him down, 'No'. But everyone knew that was just a thing with Jaune, even he knew there was no real emotion there. When would he have had the time to develop it? So now, now that he had developed something real, something tangible, he was worried. What if this was no different. This girl was incredible, her skill on the battlefield was nearly unparalleled, her confidence with others unshakeable and her spirit like a roaring fire. No one ever questioned her devotion to being a huntress and no one ever could. To do so would be to put themselves at the end of a very long sniper rifle, or possibly on the wrong side of Yang's _Ember Celica_. Ruby was without a doubt, the most devoted huntress in training Jaune had ever met because her fervor extended far beyond the scope of physical training.

Ruby was a fanatic, nothing outside of becoming the most capable Grimm slayer and most noble leader seemed to matter. Sure, around her friends she was goofy and whined about studying or being forced on a stricter diet but they all knew better. It was no secret that she sat at the top of their combat rankings, trading off with Pyrrha for the title of number one from day to day. And despite Weiss's constant badgering she had thrown herself headlong into her studies, greeting them on many mornings with heavy bags under her eyes from a night of non-stop studying. Did it ever dampen her mood? Never. She was always the first to jump at a chance to do something as a group, the loudest laughter at the table, except when Yang was laughing at her expense, and had a bright twinkle in her silver eyes that hinted at a hunger for more.

Jaune rolled over, letting his arms fall to his sides and buryied his face in his pillow with a muffled groan. Pyrrha was driving him like a slave and his muscles were screaming at him. How was he supposed to use his aura to repair the damage from that day's training if they kept sparring until his scroll was screaming out a warning that he was about to run out completely. Oum he was sore.

"Is something wrong?" Jaune shifted his head so he could look sideways through a curtain of blonde hair to see Ren, sitting still at the desk but turned sideways and resting his hand on his lap, back perfectly erect.

"Just sore from training tonight." Jaune told him, it wasn't a lie but it was definitely not the truth and Ren knew it but he simply nodded and returned to cleaning his pistols. Jaune laid there for a moment, watching Ren's methodical nature. He went about caring for his weapons the same way he went about nearly everything he did in life, slowly and with huge amounts of forethought. The entirety of both pistols were disassembled and laid out neatly on the table before him in a very precise arrangement, looking like an exploded view diagram from an engineering text. He went over every piece big or small, oiling and wiping down any moving part, ensuring no screw was stripped or worn. Jaune picked his head up off the pillow and picked it up, letting it drop back on top of his head once again sealing him into darkness.

So she was a model huntress, so what? So was Yang, and Weiss and who could explain how Blake was as talented as she was, it was like the girl had been fighting for survival her entire life, heck his own teammate Pyrrha was an international champion, instantly recognizable and nearly synonymous with the ideals of the huntress profession. So why could he not get the little brunette girl out of his head? It seemed that his every thought wound up on her, and not along some meandering path that eventually dropped a giggling visage of her face into his mind's eye. No, the effect was almost immediate. What would be a cool training exercise for the team, oh I know, we could train with RWBY. I'm bored and alone in my room. I know I'll see what Ruby's up to. Jaune just couldn't explain it to himself.

Then there was what had happened today. Cardin was like that on a daily basis, no one was free from his belittling comments, especially those he was confident he was stronger than like Jaune or Velvet. Jaune had seen him pick on people and harass Faunus dozens of times and had never really stepped in. But today, today when he saw Cardin going for Ruby he did something completely out of character for himself and stepped in. Where had that come from? Sure Jaune had beat Cardin in a match, a sparring match, in class, and barely at that. But that didn't mean he had completely overcome their adversity, it probably meant that now Cardin had a grudge against him specifically where before he was just another person in a long line of victims.

It hadn't even been a conscious decision, stopping Cardin at lunch. One minute Jaune was heaping food onto his plate and he saw Ruby stepping between Cardin and Velvet, the next thing he knew he was gripping Cardin's wrist like his life depended on it. A commanding tone had entered his voice that he didn't even recognize and he had carried himself even higher than the day he learned his plan to get into Beacon had worked. All because of her, he had stepped in to protect Ruby on impulse, because he knew he had to. Jaune picked himself up, pulling his head out from under the pillow and sat cross-legged on his bed to stare at Ren.

"Hey Ren, what do you think of Ruby?" Jaune knew the boy was sitting there, waiting for him to resume their conversation so he did not feel bad for interrupting his weapon maintenance.

"They are a very capable team. Our loss to them-" he started in his usual slow pace.

"No Ren, I mean Ruby. The girl." Jaune cut him off.

Ren closed his eyes and nodded his head slowly, contemplating this new information deeply. Jaune waited, gripping one of his pillows against his chest and leaning forward, letting the cushion take his weight. He really was sore from practice, especially his lower back on the right side, he would have to work his guard over to protect that side better when he attacked. Jaune closed his eyes and stretched slowly by leaning one shoulder over as far as he could. When Ren finally spoke, it startled Jaune so that he fell to the bed.

"I believe," Ren waited for Jaune to sit back up, "I believe she is a superb fighter and a capable leader as well as an excellent friend. Why do you ask?"

"I guess…." He trailed off slightly, he still didn't know why he had asked really, "I don't know. I guess I've just been taking more notice of her lately. Is that weird?"

"Not at all, she is very," Ren stopped to consider his adjective carefully, "attention grabbing."

"Yeah." Jaune dropped his pillow to his side and fell onto his back, laying upside down in his bed. There was a small, suppressed squeal from the other side of the room and he let his head fall to the side to see the source. Nora was now sitting up on her bed, clutching her hand over mouth and failing to hide her ear splitting grin in the slightest, her eyes were sparkling with barely contained excitement.

"Nora-" and that was all Jaune could get out.

"Oh my Oum. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but my playlist ended and you guys were talking and I didn't realize it was something personal until I'd heard too much and oh my Oum Jaune. You have a crush on Ruby! Ahhhhhh" Nora bounced on her bed, landing in a crouch and launched herself across the gap in the middle of the room to tackle Jaune against his mattress in a bear hug, "Jaune that is so great. When you two date, it will be like we are one huge team. I wonder what that would even be." She paused for a moment, trying to combine their eight initials into a somewhat cohesive acronym of their names that represented a color. Jaune struggled out from under her grip and sat up, she was so lost in thought she didn't seem to notice.

"Nora I don't think that I-" she cut him off again

"Periwinkle? Like P-R-R-Y-W-N-...J-B."she trailed off as she reached the end of the word and realized the letters didn't really line up, "Wow that's hard, Ozpin is like a genius or something." She had completely lost her train of thought and was undoubtedly now considering just how smart Headmaster Ozpin was and if he had perhaps used his vast intellect to recruit a team of animal based assassins.

"Nora, I don't think I have a crush on Ruby." Jaune had a truly puzzled look on his face, how had she come to that conclusion?

"What?" Nora was shocked out of her thoughts, "Of course you do! Didn't you just hear yourself? Okay here." Nora turned on him with an incredibly serious look, especially for her, "Do you think about her all the time?"

"Well yeah but I mean…"

"Do you think she's awesome and great and fantastic?"

"Have you seen her fight? She handled you didn't she?"

"Do you care about her and want to protect her?"

"I mean, I want to protect everyone."

"And do you get a really tight feeling in your chest when she's around? Like all the air rushed out and it's just the two of you there with nothing else?"

Jaune stopped and thought back to their conversation in the hallway an hour or so ago, standing there and watching her stare up at the moon. In that moment it was like she was all there was, the hallway and everything faded away around her and all he could focus on was her face, lit by the gentle light of their broken moon.

"Uhhh…. Ummm…." Jaune fumbled for a response.

"See, see see!" Nora was bouncing up and down on his bed again, "You do have a crush on Ruby! Ahh this is so exciting." Nora's bouncing stopped with the click of the door closing. Pyrrha had just returned from her extra training in the gym, Nora turned without missing a beat, "We're gunna be one giant happy team Pyrrha! Isn't that great?"

Pyrrha stood in silence, a rather blank look on her face. She shook her head slightly and regained her voice, "Yes, that's fantastic. Jaune why didn't you say something sooner?" Ren caught her eyes over Nora's shoulder, compassion and understanding pooling in his quiet stare, "You must tell us everything Jaune, just let me shower first." Pyrrha made her way to the bathroom door and quickly shut it behind her.

She stifled a sharp intake of breath with her hands, clasping them over her gaping mouth to try and muffle the start of her sobbing. She quickly turned the shower on high and let the sound of rushing water camouflage her gasps, her shoulders bucking with the effort of quieting herself. Crying was not something Pyrrha did, she couldn't remember ever balling over a scraped knee, crushed hand or broken bone, she was too strong. But this pain, it was as if a corset was being cinched about her heart, the strings pulled until the sides came all the way together. She couldn't breathe properly and her gasps for air came out ragged and hard. She looked about the bathroom, trying to find something, anything. Glancing down she saw a sweater balled up on the floor, a small bunny head outlined on the chest and then the tears ran. She grabbed the sweater and pressed it to her face, taking in his scent and mixing her tears into the fabric.

* * *

Ruby quietly opened the door to her dorm room. She had been out longer than she intended, her little talk with Jaune had given her a lot to think about and she knew that she needed some time to process through her thoughts before returning to her team. So she had sat by the big window at the opposite end of the hall, it faced the same direction as where she had met Jaune but was in a corner without a staircase so she wouldn't have her thoughts disturbed. She had sat and watched the moon rise up into the sky, tracing a slow arc across an endless sea of black. She missed the stars that they could see from Patch. There were a few more here at Beacon than down in Vale but they were still so close to the city that the majority of them were obscured by the light pollution. At home the sky was not the bleak, black void they had here. In Patch the sky was a tapestry covered in diamonds, a vast expanse of pinpricks of light that extended far beyond your field of vision and was impossible to keep track of or quantify.

The door creaked slightly as she eased her way into the room and Ruby winced slightly at the noise, hoping she hadn't woken anyone. She glanced first to the most easily offended party and thankfully saw that Weiss had not stirred, then she glanced over to the other pair's bunks, saw and heard Yang still snoring heavily and saw a single ear twitch atop a silky smooth head of jet black hair. Blake was wide awake, taking advantage of her innate Faunus night vision to read by the light of the moon without disturbing her roommate's slumber. She raised her eyes to meet Ruby as she entered the room.

They didn't say a word, but Ruby pushed a smile out. Hoping that by closing her eyes and forcing her dimples to appear that it would convince Blake everything was okay. When she opened her eyes the Faunus girl was standing a few feet from her, her book forgotten on her bed. That was so cool, she would have to ask Blake to teach her how to be quiet like that, then she could sneak back into the room without worrying. Blake leaned her head in the direction of the bathroom and Ruby nodded. They quietly made their way in and silently shut the door behind themselves, waiting to turn on the light until the door was closed.

"I told them I would wait up for you." Blake whispered before Ruby could say a thing, "I had some reading to do so it made sense." Ruby sat down on the toilet with the lid closed and propped her chin in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees.

"Thanks"

"Is something on your mind Ruby?" Blake leaned against the sink, resting her hands on the counter to support her weight.

"Yeah. There's just a lot going on lately." Ruby sank a little, her shoulders drooped and her toes hung limply towards the floor.

"Does it have to do with Jaune?" Ruby jerked her head up in surprise, stunned by her teammate's insight. Then she raised her legs up onto the seat and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"We've been spending a lot of time together lately, between planning training sessions and when we went out to Vale last week. It's a lot of fun, and he's really nice but I don't know." Ruby looked askance of Blake, confusion shimmering across her pale silver eyes.

"Well, what do you want Ruby? Do you see Jaune as a friend?"

"Yeah of course. He's the first friend I made here. He was the only person to talk to me like I was a normal person on my first day." Ruby stopped and caught Blake's eyes, "Except you Blake. So yeah, he's probably one of my best friends." Blake smiled at the young girl.

"So do you want anything more out of it?" Blake's question caused Ruby to blush hard and she averted her gaze.

"It's not that I do or that I don't. We all know how Pyrrha feels about him. I could never hurt Pyrrha, I know she would give everything she wanted for me, or for any of us. So how can I take anything from her?"

"But Ruby, if Jaune doesn't feel the same way about her… then you aren't taking anything because he isn't her's." Blake stepped forward and put a hand on Ruby's back, rubbing a small circle between her shoulder blades that let Ruby relax a little.

"I guess yeah. So I should just wait and see?" Ruby turned up to see Blake's caring amber eyes pouring down on her and her frown eased a little.

"I think so, you have to let Jaune make his choice."

"Thanks Blake." Ruby dropped her feet to the floor, turned and hugged Blake around the waist. Blake smiled and hugged her leader back, pulling her head close to her stomach,

"Of course Ruby." They broke apart and Ruby stood, going for the door. She turned a last smile on Blake as she shut off the light and then opened the door

Harsh fluorescent lights met Ruby and Blake along with the stares of Both Yang and Weiss, sitting on Blake's bed, waiting for them as they came out of the bathroom.

"You two are not as sneaky as you think you are," the heiress shot as they came into the room, "Well you probably are Blake but Ruby makes up for it." Ruby's head fell and she groaned, Blake sighed and walked towards her bed.

"We can talk, but let me sit on my own bed." Blake motioned with her hands for them to move and the other two got up and returned to their own beds, Yang lifting herself into the bunk above Blakes and Weiss making her way across the room. Both she and Ruby sat down on her bottom bunk.

"Soooooo, what's up Rubes?" Yang was sitting against the wall, legs crossed and hands on her knees.

Ruby just looked at the ground.

"She always gets like this. Blake are you gonna tell me?" Yang called down to the bunk below her.

"It's Ruby's decision to talk or not"

"I think I might...kindalikeJaune." the tumult of words came spilling out of Ruby's mouth and caused Weiss to physically recoil in shock. Yang immediately started laughing, doubled over from the effort.

"Jaune? Jaune _Arc_?" Weiss pointed at their door, most likely across the hall to JNPR's room, "You are crushing on _that_ Jaune?" Ruby gripped the knees of her pajamas tightly in her hands and looked at her lap, blushing furiously.

"This is why I didn't bring it up. And no I am not crushing on him. I just… I just like him is all." Ruby did not bring her gaze up but Yang stopped herself from laughing.

"I'm sorry Rubes. I'm not laughing at you, really I'm not. I'm laughing because this is no big deal." Yang sat up and wiped at her eyes, "You were so serious and came out of their with Blake like someone died or you had been kicked out of Beacon or something." Ruby looked slowly up at Yang, trying to see how sincere her prankster of a big sister was really being. Zwei chose that moment to hop up onto Weiss's bed between the two girls. Ruby seemed to completely ignore him and so Weiss pulled him into her lap and began scratching behind his ears, "Really Ruby, I didn't think that was like a huge secret. That's why I was always joking with you two, trying to grease the wheels you know?" Yang nudged her elbow in the air towards Ruby and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Seriously Yang? This is your little sister." Weiss shot her a condescending glare that was more than a little softened by the fact that she never stopped scratching the adorable puppy in her lap.

"What?" Yang put a hand to her chest in defense, "Jaune's a good guy. I've got no problem with that as long as he behaves himself."

Ruby looked over to Blake for help but the girl just looked back. She had given Ruby her advice already and it was up to her to follow it or not.

"I'm just gonna wait though, I'm not gonna do anything." Ruby looked between Weiss and Yang.

"You don't have to be nervous. I'm sure he'll say yes or just ask you out if you let on that you like him. It's pretty obvious he like's you." Yang looked down at Ruby, the concern of an older sister filling her voice now.

"It's not that. It's just… I don't wanna be in Pyrrha's way." Ruby cast her eyes down again. Weiss reached her free hand up to gently grasp Ruby's shoulder.

"You can't let other people's emotions get in the way of you being happy Ruby. Pyrrha's our friend, she's great, but if Jaune hasn't picked up on her signals yet I don't think he's going to." Weiss's voice carried a warmth that she only used with her teammates and rarely even then.

"Yeah, she's had more than a whole semester already. And she even gets to share a room with him and all their extra training time. I wouldn't worry about it Ruby." Yang's usual jovial tone returned a little, trying to encourage her little sister.

"I'm still gonna wait. If Jaune comes and asks me then I'll be okay with it. But, I don't want to start it, he needs to." Ruby relaxed her hands on her pajama bottoms and looked up at Yang, expecting resistance.

"That is a very mature decision Ruby," Weiss nodded her approval.

"If that's really what you want to do Ruby, okay. But I'm not gonna stop teasing you two." Yang gave her a reassuring smile.

Ruby brightened a little at her team's reassuring words. She had expected a lecture from Yang and Weiss together to go much worse than that. In all honesty they had been very supportive and had ended up reaffirming the advice Blake had already given her, for the most part.

"Thank you guys."

"Alright, time to sleep. Come on everybody bedtime." Weiss even managed to pry Zwei from her lap and set him on the floor, where he promptly curled up and went to sleep, in her desire to get everyone off to bed. Ruby climbed gently onto her bunk and curled under the blankets. She rolled over and stared at the sheet she had hung about her bed like a curtain, waiting until Weiss shut off the lights to close her eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this may be my favorite chapter of "Friends and Loved Ones" so far. I really like the conversations here and am just pleased with how it all came out. That said, if this is shit please tell me so that I know.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, there will be a chapter tomorrow and Tuesday and then I'm gonna take a break while I attend Anime Expo in LA. Some people asked about seeing my Skull Kid cosplay...there aren't really pictures here, it doesn't have any kind social media functions. Maybe I will put it as my Profile Picture here for a while...I don't even have one up so yeah maybe that's what I'll do.
> 
> See you all tomorrow, please remember to let me know what you think.
> 
> -Zach


	8. A Man of Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune takes the step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The next morning came and went without much of anything happening. Professor Port informed them that they would be having a test the following week and that they must be prepared for it as it was worth a significant portion of their grade. Dr. Oobleck instructed them on the different historical uses of terrain in large scale conflict and showed them how they might use the same tactics while engaging with groups of Grimm, the concepts of choke points and flanking being broken down by varying effectiveness against different types and sizes of beasts. Then there was Professor Goodwitch's sparring class, no one from either team RWBY or team JNPR fought that day. They did get a rather good show when they all got to see Yatsuhashi go up against a pair of first years. Professor Goodwitch had asked that he come in to show the class the difference between the average ability level of their class and that of a high ranked and experienced student. The boy and girl who were chosen put up a valiant effort but were not prepared for the hulking man to also be much faster than them. He made short work of them, without humiliating them and then left to return to his own class.

Lunch was much calmer than the day before as it seemed Cardin had chosen to leave their group alone for the time being. This was probably a good decision on his part seeing as Nora was still chomping at the bit to do something terrible and destructive to the boy. The two teams sat together as they always did but Ruby and Jaune did not sit together. It seemed everyone else had left a purposeful space large enough for the both of them but Jaune had sat at the end of their group seemingly ignorant to the wingmanning both teams were trying to do for him. After lunch though as they broke apart to head to very separate weapons specialty courses, Jaune caught up with Ruby alone.

"Hey Ruby, wait up." The blonde boy didn't really need to have her stop as his much longer stride had him standing beside her nearly before he had finished speaking. She turned and waited all the same though and picked up again once he had reached her.

"Hey. What's up Jaune?" Ruby did not meet his eyes and instead looked ahead and slightly down, as if intent on ensuring that she didn't trip.

"I was wondering if you had time tonight to figure out our next team training? I kind of wanted to do it this weekend." He tucked his thumbs under the edges of his chest plate and tugged at it, fidgeting even though it was adjusted perfectly.

"Oh uhh yeah. Did you wanna just meet in one of our rooms or something?" Ruby relaxed a little, this was just team leader stuff, nothing she couldn't handle.

"Actually I was thinking we could head down to the Stardust again. Or somewhere else in town if you want. I had maybe some ideas to surprise our teams." Jaune looked over to her, trying to judge her response.

"Okay, yeah. My last class lets out at six. Is after that okay?" It was a little strange to meet outside of school but if Jaune really did have some plans to surprise their teams it made sense to be somewhere even Blake's hearing wouldn't catch them.

"Yeah, actually I asked Pyrrha if we could do our training early today so we would have time. I get out today around three so we'll train, I'll shower and stuff and meet you at the airbus?" This was going great and Jaune smiled, why had he been so nervous. They had planned things like this before and even gone out as just the two of them. This was totally normal and something he shouldn't have worried about.

"Are you sure Jaune? I don't want to interrupt your practice. Or throw off Pyrrha's schedule." If them being together even as team leaders was disrupting Pyrrha's time with him she would feel like she was intruding, "Maybe we can just meet in the library or something here on campus?"

"No, no, really it's fine. Pyrrha gets out at the same time as me and we'll both still be geared from our last class so it works better this way." A bell chimed from speakers which were hidden and blended well into the architecture of the hallways, "I gotta go, I'll see you at the airbus just before seven?"

"Okay, sure. I'll see you then Jaune." Ruby waved as the boy ran off to his class in the other direction. Professor Peach would have his head if he was late. She was so strict.

Ruby shielded her eyes as the airbus pushed hard to take off back into the slowly darkening sky. It's engines roared and the air pulsed with the force of its thrust as the ship pulled away from the landing pad. The sound began to fade and Jaune came jogging back from the bathrooms, looking much better than he usually did after the short flight down from Beacon.

"Hey that was fast."

"Yeah, I got a routine going. And I think I'm getting better too. It's not even that bad anymore." Jaune smiled at himself, proud to now be able to go almost the entire ride without feeling sick, even though the airbuses were something that nearly everyone in Vale used on a daily basis without incident.

"That's good. It must be awful getting sick like that." Ruby said cheerfully and Jaune sighed

"Yeah, but I'm used to it. Come on let's get to the Stardust, I bet there's a line tonight." Jaune headed off and Ruby hurried behind. They made their way to the shop mostly in silence. It was a little warmer than the last time they were here and there were more people walking the streets, although that was probably because it was a weekday and they were all leaving work and out for the evening.

They stepped inside to find that Jaune had been correct and there was in fact a larger line than before. They stepped into place and began patiently awaiting their turn. Jaune looked at the pastry cabinet where Ruby's eyes were usually plastered, she was however currently staring at the ceiling and fiddling with hem or her hood absent mindedly.

"Just gonna get your chocolate croissant again?" his question broke her lack of concentration and pulled her back to reality.

"Uhh, no. I think I'm just gonna go with some tea tonight." she twisted the toe of one boot against the ground and looked up at the drink menu without reading any of it.

"Tea? Really? You know they have chocolate flavored coffee drinks right?" he gestured up to a section of the menu, "Any of the drinks that say Mocha."

"Yeah really, I'm okay. Thanks though. I just don't really want a chocolatey drink tonight."

Jaune gently touched the back of his hand to Ruby's forehead to check her temperature, "Do I need to take you to the hospital?" Ruby laughed and brushed his hand away, scooting almost imperceptibly away as she turned from him to look towards the front of the line.

"No really I'm okay," she laughed a little again, "I just want something else is all."

"If you say so." Jaune looked back up to the menu, "Yep, I'm just gonna get coffee," he laughed overly loud, "It's really good here, better than I can make but not quite as good as Ren's. I don't know what he does different but it just tastes awesome."

The couple people in front of them had placed their orders and were waiting off to the side for their drinks now so Jaune stepped up to the counter. The cashier greeted him kindly, although it wasn't the same faunus girl as before, and asked his order.

"One black coffee please," he turned to Ruby, "Which kind of tea?"

"Wuh? Uhh, the Very Berry."

"And one Very Berry Tea please. For Jaune and Ruby." Jaune got out his wallet and paid for both drinks.

"You didn't have to do that Jaune." Ruby hadn't even had time to protest as Jaune had paid for her drink and stepped aside to let others order.

"It's okay. And you kind of paid for me last time right? So we're even now." He smiled and found an empty space of wall for them to wait on for their drinks. Ruby looked about the store and saw how many people there were. She stepped away from the crowd pressing in around the drink bar and into a corner, sheltered by the wall on one side and Jaune on the other. He scooted over on the wall a little so she has plenty of room to stand.

"Well thank you." Ruby gave Jaune a brief smile, "So what did you have in mind for training?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah. I was thinking that we could go up to the mountains maybe, for a change of scenery. Or fight in those ruins where we fought the Nevermore to simulate some urban combat."

"I don't know. The Grimm concentrations are way higher in those areas. If something finds us after we've all been fighting…." She trailed off in worry.

"We can set the aura limits a little higher than last time. So we all have a comfortable little buffer if anything happens. And we'll have all eight of us there right? So it shouldn't be an issue." Jaune kicked one foot up against the wall and leaned, trying to look relaxed.

"I guess yeah. That should be okay then. That's a good idea though, so we can train in different places." Ruby grabbed the edge of her cloak with one hand below her waist and kind of scrunched it up in her hand.

"Hey Ruby are you okay?" Jaune looked ather with genuine concern now, not the mock concern of a few moments ago.

"Yeah Jaune I'm okay. I guess I'm just tired from class all day."

"Okay. The tea should help." Jaune smiled again, taking her answer without a single grain of salt and immediately accepting it, "I was thinking too-

"John and Ruby, your drinks are ready." the employee called out from behind the bar and set their tea and coffee on the counter. Jaune walked over and grabbed the drinks for them both.

"So I know they always get my name wrong, but really?" he turned the names to Ruby and showed her that they had written John on the tea and Ruby on the coffee. Ruby laughed and accepted her tea from him.

"Can we sit outside? It's kind of cramped in here."

Jaune looked around the store and saw that there weren't many open chairs, "After you," he motioned towards the door with an exaggerated sweep of his arm.

The pair made their way outside and found a small table cuddled in the corner of the seating area with the building on one side and a small bush that helped block the evening breeze. It was rather late at this point and the sun was almost entirely gone now, the sky already starting to darken in the East. Jaune let Ruby take the seat with her back to the plant and he sat facing the street so he could watch everyone who walked by.

"Did you have any other ideas for what we could do? Do you want to just do a full team sparring match again?" Jaune looked over the lid of his coffee cup at Ruby who was sitting slightly away from the table, clutching her tea in her lap with both hands.

"Yeah, or maybe pairs this time. Like Weiss and I against Nora and Ren. You know, partner battles."

"That could be fun yeah. It would also leave the other four to watch for any Grimm that might show up that far from campus." Jaune set his cup down and looked at the writing there. The word Ruby was written with a distinctly feminine flourish, most likely the work of the female cashier. The 'R' had a little swoop at the end of the leg and the 'y' had a curled tail. He rubbed his thumb over the letters and felt a heat in his cheeks.

"Hey Ruby?" she looked up from her drink where she had been very intently staring down the straw, "I wanted to say thank you." Ruby cocked her head to the side in confusion but just let him continue. "When I got here I didn't know anyone and you talked with me, you walked around with me and found the dorms. You didn't even think my sword was lame and I know it is. Especially compared to something like _Crescent Rose_." Jaune saw the exact smile he expected from Ruby, anyone who knew the girl at all knew that she was incredibly proud of her handcrafted weapon and would always take praise of it well over praise for herself.

"Jaune, I didn't know anybody either. I only had Yang but she ran off, and I had just blown Weiss up and been yelled at and then Blake defended me but she disappeared right after." Ruby tried to blow off his praise, honestly he had been as good of a thing for her on the first day as she had for him.

"Yeah, but you kept being great. When we were made team leaders, neither of us was confident, you were young and inexperienced and I was far outclassed by everyone else on my team. But you held your head high and jumped into the role, I shied away from it and almost let my team down. But you helped me. That talk you gave me in the hallway that night. I've been living by those words ever since." Jaune didn't let her self-deprecation slow him down one bit. He had set a goal and was barreling towards it without slowing down.

"Okay," Ruby was uncertain of how to respond.

"I guess Ruby, what I'm saying is that you're really important to me, and I like seeing you happy and smiling and thinking I had even a part in that. I wanna be there to make you smile more."

"Jaune you do make me smile," Ruby reached out a hand, thinking that maybe he was having a crisis of confidence again and thought that her behavior today towards him was because she was growing to dislike him. Jaune saw her hand and reached across the small table, setting his coffee down and grabbing her hand in both of his.

"Ruby, would you be my girlfriend? I've been thinking about it a lot and that's who I want to be to you." Ruby stopped, the care on her face broke into an expression somewhere between shock and fear. Jaune locked eyes with her, waiting for her response.

She didn't say anything.

He dropped her hand and put his own in his lap, "I'm sorry. That was dumb. You know, we'e leaders together but-"

"Yes" her response was quiet and subdued, but it was enough to stop Jaune's rambling mid sentence, "Yes Jaune. I will be your girlfriend." He looked up from his hands and found her eyes, there were small unfallen tears pooled at the base but her cheeks were pinched in a happy smile. She laughed at his shocked expression and the tears fell lightly on her pale cheeks. She quickly darted a hand up to wipe her cheeks and Jaune handed her a napkin from the dispenser on the table.

"Here, here." He laughed too as she took the napkin from him and wiped the traces of water away. She balled it up and gripped it against the side of her cup.

"I'm sorry, it's just. I knew I liked you and I wanted you to ask me. But, I guess, I guess I just wasn't ready when you actually did." Ruby looked over at him, her eyes shining now.

"You had me worried, I really thought I had messed up there." Jaune breathed heavily and took a long drink of his coffee to steady himself.

"No, no Jaune you did perfect." Ruby smiled and sat up straighter, all of her tension was gone now that that was resolved. She had been so worried about what it would be like spending time with Jaune now that she had come to terms with her feelings that she kind of shut down around him. She was being completely honest when she said she didn't want to step on Pyrrha's toes so it seemed like she had to stop being quite so 'Ruby' around Jaune and that had been hard. But now, now they were past that. "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

"Yeah that sounds nice." Jaune stood, he pushed his chair back with his knees as he stood and offered a chivalrous hand to Ruby, "M'Lady"

Ruby giggled furiously, bowed her head with an overly grand flourish and lightly took hold of his fingers as she stood, "Why thank you, Sir Arc." she performed a clumsy curtsy and then grabbed her tea.

They left the small seating area and headed out onto the streets of Vale to take their first walk, together, not just as friends and fellow team leaders, but as a couple. Ruby clenched her tea in both hands as they walked, keeping the straw right up by her mouth so she barely had to move to take a sip. Jaune tucked one hand in the pocket at the front of his hoodie and kept the other out to carry his drink as well. He made sure to stand on Ruby's right hand side so as to be between her and the road. It wasn't that Jaune didn't think she could handle herself, or even that there was any particular danger of a stray car or anything of the sort in Vale. He had just picked up these types of habits subconsciously, growing up with his sisters and always being overly protective of them, even the older ones.

They walked for a moment in silence, just the ambient sounds of the city and Ruby sipping on her tea before she gasped and Jaune stopped dead in his tracks, the stupid grin which hadn't left his face since Ruby said yes turning to a look of shock and worry.

"What's wrong?"

"Well I just realized, we are gonna have to tell Yang…" Ruby had a dreadful tone to her voice, as if she had just told Jaune there was a stampede of Death Stalkers headed for the city.

"Is that bad?" Jaune had not thought it would be a big deal. Yang seemed easy going and light hearted, she was Ruby's older sister but she was a bubbly and energetic person. She would probably be happy for them and just tell lots more terrible jokes.

"I mean, I told her I liked you when I told the rest of my team. She seemed okay with it. Said you were a good guy. I just… she's really over protective." the dread had not left her voice. She was looking to Jaune with worried eyes, halfway between her pouting face and absolute terror, it tore at Jaune's most tender heart strings.

"Oh, is that all?" he tried to play it off as best he could, "I understand that. I was the same way with my sisters and any guy that ever tried to date any of them. I'll talk to her about it. I'm sure it will be fine. Ruby's tension did not ease.

"Jaune." she was so serious, "It's not just that. Yeah she's my older sister, but when my Mom died Yang had to step in and fill that spot too. And when we were growing up Dad was gone a lot on missions so she was that sometimes too. Plus it's Yang, you know she blew a hole in the side of the training gym the other day because someone called her 'top heavy' right?"

Jaune's easy smile faded more with every sentence ending in a small grimace with the final example. "So uhh, what should we do?"

"We have to tell her. Just, uhh, maybe bring your shield." Ruby tried to give him a reassuring grin but it did little to ease his anxiety, "What about your team? Any problems on that side?" Ruby knew the answer that Jaune didn't but she wanted to make sure Ren and Nora would be okay with their new relationship as well.

"Well Nora is super excited. I kind of told my whole team how I felt about you, to get their advice." Jaune was blushing hard now, trying to look at a man in the distance to distract himself and act nonchalant. "Ren seemed supportive of me, and Pyrrha just really wanted to know if I was sure about how I felt. Her asking me the reasons I felt how I do is actually a huge reason I got the courage to ask you. Putting all the reasons out there in the open made me realize it wasn't just a crush or something." And now it was Ruby's turn to be embarrassed, she looked at her feet and ground the toe of her left boot into the ground.

"Really? You feel that way?" her voice was quiet.

"Oh yeah. I was scared to death to ask you out. I didn't want to ruin everything. Not just us but our team's friendship. Plus we have to live across the hall from each other for the next four years, could you imagine?" Jaune laughed.

Ruby darted forward and hugged him, dropping her mostly empty tea cup to the ground and wrapping her arms tight around his middle. Jaune was startled at first by the suddenness of her action but quickly recovered and put his arms around her shoulders. She nuzzled her head into his warm hoody and Jaune's grin widened. Even through his outerwear he could feel her warmth, radiating out of her face and cheeks, surely causing a blush that he just couldn't see.

After much longer contact than they usually shared, Ruby pulled away almost as fast as she had dove in and looked away from him at the ground.

"Sorry, I just. What you said made me really happy." she started when she turned and saw her cup lying on the ground, a small puddle of tea spilling out onto the sidewalk, "Oh I'm sorry Jaune and you bought it for me too." she quickly stooped and picked it up, being sure not to spill any more tea as she did and threw the cup away in a nearby trashcan.

"Oh that's alright," Jaune laughed good naturedly, "It was worth it" They both blushed a little and stood there in silence, unable to say anything to each other. Finally Jaune found his voice and started with a stutter.

"So- umm- Ruby. Now that we are- well you said yes and all-"

"Yeah?"

"Well now that we're dating. Would you like to hold my hand while we walk?"Ruby's blush returned with full force and she kneaded at the edge of her cloak with her right hand, the one she would have to extend to Jaune if she said yes, "If you don't want to yet or if it's weird that I asked I get it, I just-"

Ruby's hand darted out and grabbed Jaune's from the air. Their fingers didn't interlock, they just wrapped their fingers around each other's palms, almost as if they were shaking hands but with the wrong hands. Jaune caught his words in his throat and that silly grin returned, he squeezed her hand a little, reassuringly and turned to keep walking. Ruby came with him, not hesitating at all.

"You know you have to worry about Weiss too?" Ruby turned to him and said.

"Really? Do you think she'll feel scorned? Because I asked her out so much and switched to you?" Jaune was actually worried about this one. He knew that a girl's best friend was not something to trifle with.

"Oh no, that's not it at all. She doesn't think you're good enough for me is all. You know how she is." Ruby seemed perfectly happy about it, not a note of worry in her voice at all.

"Alright. Well I will just have to prove to her that I am." Jaune held his coffee high in the air like a torch, putting on his best hero face and causing a giggle to emit from his little brunette girlfriend.

"I'm sure you'll do just that." Ruby's blush was practically gone now and had been replaced by her usual gigantic grin.

They walked on for a while like that, about a foot apart and connected by their interlocked hands. They talked about lots of things while they circled the block surrounding the Stardust. Jaune told Ruby that Nora thought they would be one giant team now, Ruby reminded him that this did not mean she would go easy on him. Ever. They finished planning their team training session, agreeing that that Saturday was a time that worked best for both their team's training schedules. They discussed classes and upcoming exams, how funny Professor Port was and whether or not the rumors that Professor Goodwitch and Dr. Oobleck were secretly dating were true at all. They walked and talked until the moon hung high in the sky above their heads. The streets were practically empty now and they were accompanied mostly by the soft hum of the street lamps.

"We should get back. It's getting pretty late." Jaune looked to his wrist, just to remember he never wore a watch. Ruby looked up to the moon and then pulled out her scroll, surprise crossed her face as soon as the illuminated screen showed her the time.

"Jaune the last airbus leaves in like three minutes!" she pocketed her phone and let go of his hand, for the first time since grabbing it, so she could tighten her cloak.

"Oh no, we'll never make that. We'll have to call a driver or something." Jaune cursed his lack of restraint, knowing they should have headed back much earlier than this. Ruby looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean we'll never make it?" she gripped his hand much more tightly this time, "Ruby Rose is never late." There peaceful nighttime air was suddenly filled with beautiful rose petals and Jaune Arc's terrified scream as Ruby threw her semblance into high gear and tore off down the empty streets towards the airbus. They made it there just as the ship was touching down and had a moment to catch their breath as the door hissed open.

"Wow, that'll come in handy." Jaune was rubbing the inside of his left arm, sore from being jerked around the turns on their way there.

"Oh yeah, I could never be on time if it weren't for my semblance." Ruby smiled proudly, putting both hands on her hips and standing tall.

They held hands again and made their way up the short ramp and onto the airbus. Immediately they felt two pairs of eyes on them, boring into their souls. Ruby and Jaune turned to the end of the airbus, hunter training preparing them for anything. Except the angry glares of both Weiss and Yang.

"Ruby Rose, you are late." Weiss pointed an accusatory finger.

"And in sooooo much trouble." Yang had her arms crossed and was stamping her foot impatiently. Ruby and Jaune both looked down at their tightly clasped hands and back at the upset girls alone with them in the airbus.

"No, no wait. We can explain." they spoke as one.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mhmmm Mhmmm (that's a boat horn) because the ship has sailed. If you have questions about the future of this fic, please view the description which specifically avoids naming any ships that will be present. That was a weird one to write for me, stepping outside my very warm and fuzzy Arkos comfort zone there. It felt, strange, but also liberating. Afterwards I read lots of Milk and Cereal fics as well as some North Pole and I realized Pyrrha is just fine with others. Speaking of, are there any other good non-arkos Pyrrha ships out there? I would love some suggestions of stuff to read.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter. There will be one more chapter on Tuesday before I take my little break for Anime Expo. I might have some time to write and post during that break, but I won't be updating this story or "Clubbin' ". If I do post anything it will just be little one shots and maybe a string of anti-Cardin stories just to get some of that out of my system.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading.
> 
> -Zach


	9. Beauty Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby kept someone up too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The ride back from Vale with Weiss and Yang was not exactly the end to the evening that Jaune had been hoping for. He had thought they would be able to ride back in relative peace, as night pressed in on them he was sure Ruby would feel tired from the day's stress and their walk about the city. He had taken roughly double the recommended dose of anti-motion sickness medicine which he had brought with him exactly for this occasion. His hope was that the medication would allow him to weather the ride back to Beacon without incident and that perhaps his sleepy new girlfriend may rest her head on his shoulder during their ride back to school. He could gently wake her once they had arrived and get a sleepy smile. If he was particularly lucky she might grip his arm and lean on him for support during the short walk back to the dorms. Jaune longed for that sort of companionship from her, just the warm feel of her cheek pressed against his arms while they walked, her tiny calloused fingers entwined with his large firm ones, the soft tickle of her hair against his chin as she rested on the airship. These simple things were what Jaune was hoping for, but that night he got none of them.

Weiss and Yang were both fully aware of Ruby's feelings for Jaune and were mostly certain they understood how Jaune felt as well, he was not the most subtle of adorers. They were also fairly confident that Jaune was a respectable human being and would never in any way harm Ruby or do anything she wasn't comfortable with. But, when they did not return by the time they had mentioned they might be back, or a few hours later, or by lights out at the Academy, Weiss and Yang became worried. They would probably have stayed in the room and worried themselves to sleep had it been either of them alone, but together their sisterly fears on Yang's side and general distrust of men on Weiss's side seemed to build on one another and grow to unbearable proportions. They had stormed out of the room, leaving a rather befuddled Blake behind to wonder how they had so little trust for the other team leader and so little faith in their own.

Once they had made up their minds though, there was no point in even trying to stop the fiery blonde or the stubborn heiress and they had made up their minds to be upset with the two. Jaune and Ruby were dangerously unprepared for the onslaught they faced on the airship. Yang and Weiss together were armed with every possible terrible thing which could have happened, a million eventualities both plausible and ridiculous which had kept them up worrying and pacing the dorm. They began to unload on the pair until Yang's eyes had drifted down to see the hands, tightly gripping each other out of fear.

"Wait!" Yang's outburst cut Weiss off in the middle of an explanation of how they had no way of knowing that Jaune and Ruby had not been ambushed by White Fang or some of Torchwick's gang while they were in town unarmed. Weiss turned to Yang, surprised that she had cut her off, this one had been her idea after all. Weiss followed the blonde's gaze to her partner's hand, firmly wrapped around Jaune's.

"Ruby! Oh my Oum!" she squealed in a very un-Weiss-like fashion and brought her wrists together beneath her chin, hands clenched trying to contain her excitement. The new couple saw their friends had caught on and both turned away in embarrassment but kept their hands firmly grasped. They moved to sit down, with the airship well underway at this point, Ruby knew that Jaune would most likely be having trouble. They found a bench along the wall and Jaune leaned against a bulkhead, letting Ruby sit on the open part of the bench which Weiss and Yang immediately filled. Jaune leaned into the side of the ship partly to steady himself and partly hoping that Ruby would in turn lean on him. In the presence of her sister however, she sat up straight still holding his hand but with her back to him as she addressed her teammates.

"Yes you two. Do you get why we're late now? We've been walking and talking and uhh… holding hands all night. It has been.." she trailed off and turned to Jaune, a slight heat coloring her cheeks, "It's been really nice." she smiled and squeezed his hand a little. Jaune's face was again covered in a stupid grin accompanied now by a slight flush of embarrassment as he sat up. How could he have wanted more physical contact from her on their first night as a couple? And in front of her teammate and sister no less. He cleared his throat as he sat up and tried his best to look like a man without losing that foolish grin.

"I thought it would be better to ask her out simply like this. Away from everyone on both of our teams so it was just us." Jaune looked at the two girls he knew would be even harder to win over than Ruby and probably more important to his relationship with the little brunette.

"Oh wow Jaune. So you are capable of sense." Weiss mockingly turned her head away, chin held high in disdain. Yang gave her a playful elbow in the ribs, laughing merrily.

"Oh don't get all haughty Princess. You said 'no' to him plenty of times. Be happy for Ruby." Weiss turned back to them, the smallest hint of a smile playing at her usually perfectly composed lips.

"I am happy for you Ruby," she locked eyes with her partner, "I'm really glad it worked out this way." Yang burst the moment by kicking her feet up on the bench and leaning against the opposite bulkhead, placing Weiss and Ruby between their two blonde companions on the bench.

"Alright. So we've gotta sort something out first." Yang's infectious smile and lazy stance betrayed her overly serious tone, "Jaune." She regarded him warmly, "If I find you have laid a single wayward finger on my sister. Or if she ever comes to us in tears because of you. For any reason at all. I will end you. Do you understand?" Weiss and Ruby both flattened against the backrest so that Yang's violet eyes could close intently on Jaune's darting blue ones. Jaune squirmed under her stare, but felt a little boost of confidence when he caught Ruby's eyes watching him with concern. He ran his thumb in a little circle over the back of her hand and swallowed hard.

"Yang, I will do right by your sister. You can trust me." the knight in training steadied his eyes, facing down this terror with all the courage he could muster.

"Alright Arc. Just remember what I said." Yang sat up and clapped Weiss on the shoulder, "Come on Weiss, let's leave the two lovebirds to their business." Yang stood and pulled Weiss along with her to another part of the airbus so the two could have their privacy.

As soon as Yang and Weiss were far enough away Jaune breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Ruby stroked his arm with her free hand and loosened her grip slightly. Jaune looked up in surprise at her letting go of his hand. He loosened his grip as well, distinctly remembering Yang's warning from moments before. To his delight however, Ruby gave him a bright smile and as soon her hand was free, entwined her fingers with his and squeezed his hand comfortingly. She used her thumb to trace the outlines of his finger bones absentmindedly.

"I warned you about Yang you know." Ruby's voice was full of concern, "And it won't go away. But, you handled it really well Jaune." She smiled again and scooted closer to him, resting their hands in her lap. Jaune brightened at this, those kinds of little gestures were exactly the sorts of signs he had been looking for all night.

"I mean what I said Ruby." Jaune said and she looked up to meet his eyes, "I care about you, as a huntress, a friend and now as my girlfriend. I really want you to be happy." Ruby giggled excitedly and gripped his hand harder, her excitement putting an end to the nervous little circles her thumb had been running.

"Keep it up Jaune. Talk like that will get you everywhere." she smiled again and hugged his arm close to her. Then she just sat there, kicking her feet idly and looking out the window built into the roof of the skybus, watching the stars drift lazily by as the ship made its way towards their school. The moon was hanging low in the sky, most of the broken pieces and chunks had orbited around to the far side and the clean, unbroken face was turned toward them. Jaune smiled contentedly and relished in the small contact, her little expression of care and closeness. He turned his gaze up and looked out the skylight as well, content just to sit with her, together.

* * *

 

Jaune put himself between Ruby and the departing airship as it jets threw up a cloud of dirt and debris into the air around them. He knew she was fine, and that they all stood next to the things as they landed and took off, but if he could keep a little dirt off her cloak or out of her eyes by standing there, he would.

"Aww Jaune you really are a knight aren't you?" Yang had that mocking grin of hers on again, "She's a tough little rose you know, not scared of some dirt." Ruby smiled and grabbed Jaune's hand again, having let go of it as the descended the stairs from the air ship.

"I thought it was sweet. Thank you Jaune." She pulled him away by his hand, off towards the dorms. Jaune seemed content to let her lead the way, letting himself be drug along behind the feisty little brunette.

"You know it's gonna take more than that to get under their skin right?" Weiss asked of Yang as the new couple left earshot, "Ruby is immune to you after so many years and Jaune is far too dense for even your level of sarcasm." Yang grimaced playfully as she watched them retreat towards the rooms.

"I know, sheesh. I'm trying to be nice to my little sister though. It's her first real boyfriend." Yang crossed her arms and her grimace faded to a soft smile.

"Yang Xiao Long. Am I seeing your considerate, caring side?" Weiss turned on her teammate, laughter in her eyes and a smirk on her face.

"Shut it Princess. Don't tell a soul." Yang gave her a playful shove on the shoulder and started towards the dorms. Weiss laughed as she regained her balance and followed after her.

"Hey! Wait up you brute."

* * *

 

Thanks to their significant head start and Yang's purposefully slow pace Ruby and Jaune reached their opposite dorm room doors well ahead of the other pair. They stood between the doors and faced each other, backs to their own rooms. Jaune brought his hand down and grabbed Ruby's other hand so he was holding both her hands gently in front of himself. They smiled at each other in silence for a moment, looking into each other's eyes.

"Jaune, I had a really nice time with you tonight. And I'm really happy with what happened." Ruby blushed slightly and averted her eyes. Jaune pulled on one of her hands lightly to draw her eyes back up to his.

"I did too Ruby. I'm glad I finally asked." He let go of her hands and moved his own hands to just above her hips to pull her in. Ruby wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled all the way into a hug. Jaune easily let his arms slide around her slim torso, feeling the strings of her corset taught under his fingers. He held her close, but not tight and after a long moment she pulled away. They left their hands on each other's midsections, staring into each other's eyes again for a moment.

Jaune looked down at her and saw in the moonlight what he had seen a million times before in her, beauty. The red tips of her hair hung loosely around her face, framing her blushed cheeks and silver eyes against the dull background of the dorm walls. Her eyes shown bright in the mix of gentle moonlight and soft yellow lighting that drifted through the halls late at night. But the light reflected there was different, usually they were radiant with excitement and energy, shining like two bright candles. Now, they were warm and calm, glowing with happiness and contentment. His gaze drifted ever so slightly down to her lips, moist and full despite the late hour. Was it the right time? They had just had a first date of sorts and she seemed as happy as he was with the outcome. But what if Yang and Weiss came in, what if she wasn't ready, what if he was bad at it?

"We should go to bed." Ruby pulled one hand free and stifled a yawn with the back of her hand, "We still have classes tomorrow." Ruby pulled forward again into another hug, squeezing Jaune slightly tighter than before before releasing and turning to her door, scroll in hand, "I'll see you in the morning." she said with a sleepy grin and her head cocked off to the side so all her hair hung down one way.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow Ruby." Jaune returned her smile and closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see her leave. He heard the door open and close before he finally opened his eyes again, alone in the hallway. He hit himself repeatedly in the forehead with the base of his palm.

" _Stupid, stupid, stupid Jaune. Why didn't you kiss her? Why didn't you even try? Stupid Jaune._ " he screamed at himself in his head. With a sigh he turned and opened his own door, resigning to be more of a man tomorrow. To get a good night's sleep and face his first day as half of a pair. What would Nora say?

* * *

 

Ruby slipped into the room and quietly closed the door behind her. She sighed and rested her forehead against the door. Tonight had been great, she couldn't have imagined it going any better. The evening had started out with her nerves on end, worried about every eventuality and what might happen, mostly worried that nothing might happen. Ruby knew that if they had gone out tonight just as friends, that would have been the end of it. She would have locked her feelings for Jaune away and been the best friend she possibly could, but now, now she didn't have to do that and it made her so unbelievably happy. Jaune had asked her out. Without antics or overblown theatrics, no guitars or fireworks, just a simple question posed with a stammer in his voice and a blush on his cheeks.

Ruby stifled a small squeal and clenched her fists in excitement. Now she and Jaune were dating and they were gonna be so happy together. Ruby still felt bad for Pyrrha, she knew how strongly the other girl felt about Jaune, but she also knew that that didn't matter if Jaune didn't feel the same way about her. Still, she would do her absolute utmost to not gloat this in front of Pyrrha. She would limit any and all public displays of affection with Jaune and try to continue as normal around the Invincible Girl. She was her friend too and she didn't want to hurt her. With a resolution to make tomorrow great and try and her to best to not hurt any of her friend's feelings Ruby turned from the door to go to bed. She was immediately met by the glowing yellow eyes of her sister's partner, sitting up in bed with a small book clutched in her hands. She had stopped reading though and was waiting for Ruby to notice her.

"Welcome back Ruby." Blake smiled at her leader, "Did you have a good night?" Ruby lit up with excitement again, happy to share her joy with someone who seemed actually pleased at what had happened and wasn't upset with her like the other two. Ruby waved her hands about in the air and ran over to Blake's bed, plopping down just below the girl's feet, being careful to keep her boots off of the covers.

"Oh Blake it was fantastic! He took me out for coffee and acted like everything was normal and we were just talking about stuff. Then he stopped and got really serious and nervous and asked if I wanted to be his girlfriend. I was really really nervous about it. I didn't say anything at first because I was kinda scared. Then he started to take it back so I jumped and said yes because I didn't want him to take it back." Ruby rolled into a stream of words, letting Blake know every detail of what had happened in a matter of seconds, "Then we walked and walked and walked and walked around town and talked about all kinds of things. He got really nervous again near the end and asked if he could hold my hand. That made me nervous too because I've never held hands with a boy like that but I just grabbed his hand and it was really nice. I didn't think just holding hands with someone could be that big of a deal, but it's like…" she stopped mid sentence trying to find the best word to describe the feeling of holding hands with a boy, with someone she cared about, "It's really special. It made me feel really warm inside."

"I'm glad Ruby. It sounds wonderful. A real life romance novel." Blake shifted under the blankets, curling her legs closer to herself and sitting up a little straighter. She reached a hand out to gingerly touch Ruby's shoulder, "I'm so happy it worked for you Ruby."

Ruby's eyes glistened and she reached her hand up to cover Blake's for a moment before leaning in and hugging the other girl hard. Blake was startled at first, by the suddenness of Ruby's movement but quickly softened into the hug, petting the back of Ruby's head as she nuzzled into Blake's shoulder.

"Blake! Thank you so much for your advice. You're the best!" Blake let out a muted laugh and let Ruby pull out of the hug.

"It wasn't that much. I just want you to be happy." Blake said softly. Ruby smiled and jumped up from the bed.

"Okay, we should sleep. Classes tomorrow and stuff. I'm gonna take a quick shower." Ruby gave Blake a huge smile and skipped off to the other side of the dorm where the bathroom was. Blake watched her go smiling until she closed the bathroom door behind her. As the door closed and Blake was once again alone in the quiet dark of the room, she curled her knees to her chest and hugged her legs tight against herself.

* * *

 

As seemed to always be the case at Beacon and for Team RWBY especially, morning came much earlier than anyone would have liked. The alarms on everyone's scrolls began blaring as the sun pierced it's way through their large windows. Blake was already up, quietly brushing out her hair when Yang and Weiss rolled out of bed. Weiss yawned and stretched her arms above her head.

"Hurry up Ruby, I need the shower." the heiress held a fist to her mouth to stifle the sound of her yawn and wiped the sleep from her eyes, there was no response from her team leader. She got up from bed and checked the bunk above her. Ruby was sprawled out on her mattress, covers in absolute disarray, one leg of her pajamas bunched up around her knee, arms and legs at awkward angles, snoring quietly and completely oblivious to her blaring scroll alarm. Weiss smirked and immediately headed for the bathroom, happy to take this opportunity at the first shower.

Yang saw her little sister and chuckled a little, "She had a long night," the blonde turned to her partner, "Were you up to talk to her last night?"

"Yes. She was rather excited by the whole evening." Blake finished her stroke and set down the brush, turning to Yang, "Are you okay with this?"

"Yeah like I said, Jaune seems alright and I know Nora and Pyrrha will be almost as mad as me if he does anything stupid and he has to live with them." Yang laughed, knowing the other two girls would not tolerate any nonsense from Jaune, they adored Ruby too much and held him to too high a standard as their leader.

They both heard the water start up in the bathroom with a hiss and steam started to roll lightly from under the door.

"Well, I'm going to head to the library before class. I want to pick up the sequel to this novel I finished last night." Blake rose from her seat by their mirror and grabbed her things for the day.

"Okay, see you in Goodwitch's class. Maybe we'll get to spar today." Blake shook her head with amusement and gave a small wave of farewell over her shoulder as she left.

Yang crept over to Ruby's bed and rested her hand gently on the sleeping girl's shoulder. She shook her slightly, mostly just rocking her shoulder back and forth, trying to ease her out of sleep.

"Hey c'mon Rubes. You gotta wake up. Time for class." Ruby slowly stirred from her sleep, her eyes fluttering open and immediately shutting against the harsh sunlight slanting through the window.

"Agghh. Turn the sun off," she mumbled through the covers she had thrown over her head.

"Alright, you're awake now, come on." Yang stepped back from the bed and started arranging her books and folders for their day of class. A few minutes passed and the shower in the bathroom stopped. Yang was digging through her drawers to find clothes for the day and heard Ruby behind her slide out of bed and land heavily on the floor. Yang turned just in time to see Ruby grabbing the doorknob of the bathroom, "Wait Ruby-"

Steam billowed out as the door opened, venting into the dorm to reveal a very naked heiress, toweling her hair off above her head, humming contentedly and bobbing her hips to the rhythm of some little song only she could hear. As the steam raced out of the bathroom she turned with a start, quickly dropping her towel over her naked form to cover herself and screaming.

"RUBY! Shut the door!" Ruby shut the door and spun, turning her back to the bathroom and shielding her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Oh my gosh, Weiss I'm so sorry." Ruby opened her eyes slowly, and stepped away from the door. She sat on the edge of Weiss's bunk and patiently waited for the other girl to finish her business and emerge from the bathroom on her own time. After a few moments Weiss came out mostly dressed, hair still damp and in loose tangles down her shoulders. Ruby stood to meet her, "I'm sorry Weiss, I'm used to being first. I should have knocked."

"Just go," Weiss pointed a finger towards the bathroom and Ruby glumly followed, head down and closed the door behind herself.

"You really should have locked the door." Yang regarded Weiss, who was currently trying to brush the tangles out of her hair.

"Ruby should have knocked. Your sister is just unbelievable Yang. How could she walk in on me like that? What if Blake had been in here? What if someone else saw?" Weiss was now angrily trying to get a stubborn knot out of her hair with the brush.

"Well she wasn't the only one who saw." Yang smirked at the flustered girl, loving the little blush she had managed to create. Weiss steamed in frustration and threw the brush at Yang who ducked it easily, laughing the whole time, "What?" Yang flashed her a huge grin, "You looked good doing your little happy dance." Yang ducked as a makeup brush was hurtled from the dressing table at her, "Come on Weiss. I just saw you shaking what the Schnee's gave you."

"Yang! Ahh You savage!" Weiss stamped her foot in anger but had a now massive blush across her face. The toilet flushed and Ruby emerged from the bathroom, drying her hands on a small towel. Yang raced past her into the bathroom to escape Weiss's fury.

"Weiss what's wrong?" Ruby asked seeing her blush, "I didn't see anything, I promise. There was steam and I closed my eyes and I promise." Weiss's embarrassment faded into scornful anger.

"You have to pay more attention Ruby." Weiss turned and began running the brush through her hair again. Ruby's head fell and she turned to get out her clothes for the day.

"Sorry Weiss."

About an hour later the three girls were all dressed and ready, most of the time having been devoted to Weiss and Yang's long hair and all of the care that had to go into taking care of it and brushing it on a daily basis. They emerged from the room ready to face the day. Jaune was standing in the hallway leaning against the wall next to his door and browsing his scroll. He looked up as the three girls emerged and smiled to see Ruby.

"Good Morning!" He pushed off the wall and went straight to Ruby, wrapping her up in a hug which she eagerly returned.

"Morning Jaune." Yang said cheerfully.

"Good Morning Jaune," Ruby snuggled her head into the crook of his shoulder before pulling away. Ruby stepped off to the side of Jaune so that they were in a small circle in the hallway.

"What was all that screaming this morning? Nora almost kicked down both of our doors to see what was going on." Jaune looked to all three of them with honest curiosity.

"Oh Jaune, it was terrifying. You'll never believe-" Weiss punched Yang in the shoulder before she could really get going, but the big blonde just laughed it off.

"That was Ruby needing to learn manners." Weiss retorted with derision. Ruby's head fell again and she sighed.

"No way. Not Ruby. She's definitely the sweetest girl here." Jaune reached an arm over and around Ruby's shoulder, pulling her into a weak side hug. She giggled and cheered up, but still pulled out of the hug so they were just standing by each other again.

"As team leader, I think we should completely forget this morning happened." Ruby chirped happily.

"Oh wow that bad huh?" Jaune turned to his girlfriend.

"It was worse than that." Weiss was obviously still upset.

"Ha no way Ruby. I couldn't forget it if I tried." Yang received another punch from her sister's partner and the white haired girl stormed off down the hallway. Yang laughed her usual boisterous laugh, "Well I'll leave you two alone. Don't be late to class now." Yang winked at them and walked casually down the hall after her other teammate. Ruby crossed her arms in a playful pout.

"You see what happens when I try to be a leader?" She turned to Jaune with her cheeks puffed out in mock anger.

"What did you do to Weiss? Did Zwei like lick her face or something?" Jaune reached forward and grabbed one of her hands, uncrossing her arms and interlocking his fingers with her own. She looked up and down the hallway quickly and relaxed her arms, sliding her fingers into his.

"She likes that though. She could never be mad at Zwei. No I might have… kind of… walked in on her in the shower." Ruby blushed again, remembering what had happened in all too vivid detail.

"Is that really that big of a deal? Ren and I share the bathroom all the time to change and shower and stuff. I figured since you were all girls you just never bothered except when you were like, you know, using the restroom." Jaune looked honestly confused.

"What? No, eww Jaune that's gross. I mean Yang and me do sometimes but we're sisters." Ruby recoiled at the thought of sharing a bathroom that openly with her teammates.

"Oh well, I guess it's just a guy thing maybe." Jaune turned and they walked hand in hand down the hallway.

Mornings at Beacon were refreshing and full of energy. Most students had an early class focused on physical development, whether this was training, sparring, or exercise depended on their schedules and what their team leaders thought they needed the most work on. After that there was a short lecture course and a break which most everyone used to get breakfast and then it was into the more academic classes for the day. Battle Theory, Strategy, Grimm Biology, History, even political courses so that the young warriors in training could understand the impact that Huntsmen and Huntresses had had on the world in the past and what impact they might have in the future. Confident in their physical conditioning, both Teams RWBY and JNPR had opted for their teams to enroll in Goodwitch's sparring class for their mornings. Ruby and Jaune got to the classroom just before class started, the rest of their two teams were already seated and chatting amongst themselves. In the middle of the group they had all left two seats side by side. This made it so that Jaune and Ruby could sit with each other and still with their teams as was required. The new couple made their way down the rows and Ruby deftly slipped her hand out of Jaune's so she could squeeze down the aisle.

Jaune followed behind her, trying to wiggle past Weiss, Yang and Blake without rubbing against them or jostling their notes as best he could. Ruby had a much better time of it, she was all of what, two inches thick? Jaune's waist and legs had a little more girth to them and he nearly knocked Blake's textbooks forward into the row in front of them. He got past the last one and realized he should have gone first, because now he had to push past Ruby as well. She remained standing and he took the opportunity to try and hold her for one last second before class. He came in front of her and went to reach down to her waist and hold her for a moment but Ruby stepped to the side letting him pass.

"Sorry Jaune, there you go." He had wanted to be smooth and with that ruined he resigned to taking his seat by her side. After he finished sidling into place she took her seat and sat down with a huff, "I'm so tired. I hope Goodwitch doesn't call on me to spar."

"Well maybe someone shouldn't be staying out so…" Weiss's chaste comment faded into a muffled yawn and she covered her mouth with the back of her hand, "Oh, excuse me." she shook her head a little to shake off the yawn, "that is your fault Ruby." Ruby hung her head.

The rest of class continued as usual, with several sparring rounds and short lectures from Professor Goodwitch on the strong and weak qualities of every bout. Luckily Ruby was not chosen to spar, unfortunately, Weiss was. The heiress shot Ruby a a withering glare as she made her way to the combat floor. She had been chosen to fight Russel Thrush, a dagger wielding boy with a mohawk from team CRDL. Weiss won the battle but definitely not as gloriously as she would have liked. Several missteps and a botched glyph meant that the boy was able to score several hits before she took out what should have been a worthless opponent. She returned to their tables and gave Ruby and Jaune a condescending glance but said nothing.

After class was released and they were in the hallway, Weiss's anger was unleashed.

"I swear you two. You have been dating for what? A full twelve hours? And you've already managed to ruin my morning and have me perform terribly in class." Weiss was steaming mad, cornering the new couple in the hallway until Pyrrha came to their rescue.

"Weiss. You did not perform terribly. You defeated your opponent while at a distinct disadvantage. That is a victory." Pyrrha stood calmly and regarded the heiress with her large emerald eyes, the authority of a champion pouring out of her.

"But I could have been better if I wasn't so tired. And Pyrrha you don't even want to know what Ruby did this morning." Weiss turned her fury on the taller girl, unwilling to be quenched so easily. Ruby blushed at the reminder of that morning and began to fidget with her cloak, worried that Weiss may be about to spill the beans on what had happened to possibly their most reserved friend. Pyrrha saw Ruby's change and turned back to Weiss.

"I will trust that whatever happened this morning was purely an accident. But Weiss, that sparring match was more helpful than you know. When we are huntresses out in the wild, fighting Grimm for our life, we will have to fight under all sorts of conditions, tired, sick, rain and snow. If every practice you are well rested, well fed and fighting in optimum conditions then you will never be truly prepared." Pyrrha put both hands on her hips in an authoritative manner.

"Well.. that's true but…" Weiss rapidly searched her brain for a comeback.

"And would Russel have been a challenge in any other setting?" Pyrrha knew that by appealing to Weiss's pride she would have the battle won.

"No. No, you're right. The battle would have been a waste of time if I was properly prepared." Weiss turned to Ruby and Jaune, "You two still aren't getting off though. I need my sleep and so do you." With that the heiress tromped away down the hall, shoes clacking against the hard tile floor.

"Oh Pyrrha thankyouthankyouthankyou." Ruby dove forward and gave the other girl a quick hug around the waist, "That was awesome, I've never seen anyone shut Weiss down like that."

"Yes well. It wasn't a bother really. It just wasn't fair her berating you two like that." Pyrrha's shoulders and stance relaxed into a more friendly posture and she gripped her left forearm with her right hand.

"You should have seen her last night, unloading on us on the way back from our date." Jaune rubbed the back of his head and closed his eyes as he laughed. At the mention of Ruby and Jaune on a date Pyrrha stiffened slightly, gripping her arm a little tighter. Ruby didn't even have to see her react to know she would at that comment and piped up.

"Oh no. I forgot my book for Oobleck's class in my room. I'll be right back." Ruby went to dash away but stopped at Jaune's voice.

"You can share with me Ruby. So you don't have to run all the way back." He smiled, hoping for the opportunity to lean over the same book with her.

"That's okay, I'll be back in a flash. Ruby Rose is never late!" and she was gone in a flurry of rose petals. Jaune laughed as the red blur that was his girlfriend vanished around a corner.

"She just never stops." he turned to his teammate, "Well we might as well head to class then. She'll meet us there." Jaune turned and walked off towards their next course. Pyrrha squeezed herself and sighed quietly under her breath, waiting a moment and watching as Jaune walked away. He rounded the corner without looking back and her shoulders drooped. There was gust of wind and a flurry of rose petals fell on Pyrrha's shoulders, accompanied by a small brunette girl standing in front of her. Ruby hugged Pyrrha, gripping her tight and not letting go. Pyrrha was shocked at first but then relaxed into the hug and returned it. After a moment Ruby spoke up.

"He's a really great guy Pyrrha."

"Yes he is. I'm very happy for you two Ruby. I wish you the best." Pyrrha looked up at the ceiling, trying to prevent any tears from welling up in her eyes.

"Thank you Pyrrha. You're one of the best friends I could ever ask for." Ruby squeezed her again and let go, "Now come on, let's get to class." She grabbed Pyrrha gently by the hand and pulled her off down the hallway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - A lot of the chapters for this story will be around this length. There is a lot to get through in any one chapter and I never want to leave a set of characters for too long. What are your thoughts on the piece so far? Do you like the different things going on? Are you a Lancaster hater like so many? Please let me know what you think, I love talking to people as they read.
> 
> Sadly this is the last update for this story until July 7 when I return from LA. I tried to time it so there was a long chapter with lots to think about before the break to try and hold you over. I may also try and write some little one-shot pieces between now and then but I wouldn't count on it, the shows get really busy.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and keeping up with the story. I hope you're enjoying it.
> 
> -Zach


	10. Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The stone bridge rumbled and shifted to the side, slipping off it's foundation stone slightly. The flagstones began to splinter and crack, crevices raced across the surface spreading out from _Magnhild's_ head. Nora cackled maniacally and fired off a round of dust, directly into the compromised bridge. Unable to take any further abuse the bridge snapped in half, the supporting arch crumbling into the canyon below.

"Team Evac now Weiss!" Ruby leapt back to Weiss and screamed. The heiress threw a glyph at the ground that launched all of Team RWBY off the bridge and safely to a separate structure, a tall, hollowed out tower. Yang bellowed as they landed.

"Awwww come on! I wanted to break that bridge." Yang punched her gauntlets together, ejecting dozens of spent dust cartridges before reaching into her belt and throwing two new belts of shells in, "I'm gonna distract her. You guys handle Pyrrha and Ren."

"Go team!" Ruby yelled as Yang fired her gauntlets and launched herself into the air with a whoop, "Blake, let's bait them." Blake gave her leader a curt nod and crouched, a glyph appeared under her feet and launched her at the emerald and crimson warriors across the canyon. Ruby unfolded _Crescent Rose_ and planted the blade of the scythe firmly in the stone work at her feet and Weiss extended _Myrtenaster_ in front of her, a series of black glyphs extending in front of _Crescent Rose's_ barrel.

Blake landed in front of Pyrrha and Ren. They stood single file Pyrrha in front, _Miló_ and _Akoúo̱_ at the ready, Ren behind her _Storm Rose_ aimed over either of her shoulders. He unleashed a short burst and Pyrrha charged under the cover. Blake threw her scabbard up to guard from the barrage of dust and leapt backwards, leaving an ice replica behind to slow Pyrrha's advance. The Mistralian smashed into the ice sculpture with her blade, effortlessly shattering it. She raised her shield quickly and caught _Gambol Shroud_ before it could strike her. Blake retreated again as another barrage of dust emitted from Ren's guns. She threw her blade forward as she sailed backwards, planting it in the ground behind Ren and using the ribbon to swing herself around to his other side. As she came around behind there was a small popping noise and he went reeling backwards. Blake yanked her blade free, slid a few feet on her feet to come right behind the boy still off balance from Ruby's sniper round and caught him square in the back with blade of her katana, following up with a blow to the head from the scabbard. Ren dropped to the ground and Blake refocused on the tall red head now sprinting towards her. They came together hard, blades ringing, shield and scabbard clashing together.

"That was a dirty trick." Pyrrha growled as they struggled against each other's strength.

"We're not in a tournament Pyrrha. Anything goes." Blake kicked off the ground and performed a backflip, leaving a shadow clone in her place. Another pop but Pyrrha was ready, she raised her shield high and caught the round from _Crescent Rose_ diverting it off into the distance without looking. Blake fired a few rounds at her as she sailed through the hair, Pyrrha lithely stepped to the side, evading the dust and ran to meet Blake as she landed.

Nora came rushing forward swinging her _Magnhild_ as she neared Yang. The blonde stepped quickly to the side and delivered a jab to Nora's midsection. The girl didn't even seem to notice the gauntlet make contact as she brought her mighty hammer around her head in a circle, sailing towards Yang's chest. Yang brought her hands up in a cross block and caught the brunt of the strike with her guard, it still sent her flying across the gap where Nora had destroyed the bridge. She slid on her back quite a distance before coming to rest at a pair of dirty sneakers. Jaune raised his blade high above his head and swung down with all his might. Yang smirked and rolled out of the way, spinning to her feet.

"Sorry Jaune. Not today." Yang quipped as she struck her stance.

"I know. Doesn't mean I can't try." Jaune fell into a deep stance, shield held proudly in front of him, sword at the ready. Yang smiled and deepened her stance.

"Alright, let's go Arc." She fired her gauntlet behind her and smashed into Jaune's shield with her shoulder, the boy took the hit well but then Yang was on top of him. She swung hard from the side, knocking his shield arm away. He tried to counter with his blade but was met in the chest with a hard jab. There was a loud explosion and he went flying several feet backwards into a stone pillar. Yang shot forward and delivered several blows in a row to his midsection. Jaune rocked as she struck and eventually fell to his knees, defeated. Yang smiled at him.

"Damn Jaune, you took a beating. You alright?" She offered him a hand which he gingerly accepted, dusting himself off. He held her hand long after he had stood and gripped it hard. Yang's smile turned to shock as she realized what he was doing. She yanked hard and broke his grip but she was too late, _Magnhild_ hit her square in the back and sent her crashing forward into Jaune, a loud boom going off as Nora fired a dust round into Yang's back. She and Jaune went crashing through the pillar and landed in a pile of dust and rubble. Jaune groaned as he lifted himself.

"Okay, okay, now I'm hurt. Oh owww." Jaune clutched at his side as he sat up.

"Serves you right!" Yang bounced up and scanned around for Nora. As the dust settled she came walking into the clearing Jaune and Yang had created in the ruins, clenching her hammer and giggling like a child at a candy store who has been told they can have whatever they like.

"That's two in a row Yang. Are you slipping?" Nora eyes lit with a competitive gleam, Yang's with a barely controlled fire.

"Oh come on! That is not fair, I was helping him up. Last time I'm nice to someone during a fight." Yang crossed her arms in a huff. Nora stuck out her tongue and went running off towards the combat.

Pyrrha dodge rolled around Blake's swing and raised her shield in the direction of the sniper fire to ward off the blow but it never came. She glanced to her other side and saw a small glyph floating in the air and grimaced, dust damned magic. The round hit the glyph and slanted down towards her, ricocheting off of the magic barrier without losing any momentum and hit her hard in the shoulder. Her sword arm fell limp from the impact, her aura had saved her from certain death but shivers still ran up and down her arm from the brute force of the impact. There was a woosh as Blake slid into place next to her, a sly grin on her lips. But, Pyrrha refused to go down that easy.

She spun on her heel, putting her shield between she and Blake. Instead of blocking the blow full on, she let it slide off the side of her shield and ran her fingers along the edge of the blade before Blake retracted it. Now she had her. Pyrrha stood and flicked her hand hard to the side, sending the blade of _Gambol Shroud_ rocketing away. The ribbon uncoiled quickly and Blake desperately tried to retract the weapon. When the line went taut it pulled Blake with it and Pyrrha caught the Faunus's stomach with her boot, the combined force knocking her to the ground. She then brought her shield down hard on Blake's chest and felt her aura weaken under the weight of her blow.

"Anything goes right?" Pyrrha flashed Blake a victorious grin and was then rocked forward by another shot to the back. She collapsed on top of Blake.

"Yep, all's fair in love and war." Blake and Pyrrha both laughed.

"Is that everyone?" Weiss relaxed her stance, let her glyphs drop and scanned the area below them, "I don't see Nora, did Yang get her."

"I don't think so, Weiss look." Ruby pointed over to where Yang and Jaune were sitting and talking in a pile of rubble. It was then that the entire tower they were standing on shook. They met each other's gaze and spoke as one.

"Oh no."

The tower went crumbling out from underneath them and they plummeted towards the ground. Weiss and Ruby both sprung into action to save themselves from the fall. Weiss applied a glyph to a nearby rock, plastering herself to it and immediately pushed away, bouncing off of chunks of tower to slow her fall. Ruby fired her rifle at the ground repeatedly, using the momentum to ease her descent and then it hit them. The fall wasn't the point.

A series of booms went off and they were surrounded in clouds of pink dust. The explosions from _Magnhild's_ grenades shattering the rubble to pebbles and ravaging their aura. They both hit the ground hard and stayed down.

"Wooooo! Did you see that? I got three!" Nora jumped up and down cheering, "That was so awesome! We need to do this again. That was so much fun!" The rest of the two teams made their way over. Jaune and Yang arrived first and bent to help Ruby. Yang caught herself and went to help Weiss, seeing that Jaune had Ruby under control.

"You okay Ruby?" Jaune helped her up off the ground. She rose to her knees and shook a cloud of pink dust and rubble out of her hair.

"Nora," she raised her gaze slowly to meet the other girl's eyes, "Can I try out your hammer please?" A huge grin split both of their faces and everyone else sighed.

"Oh no nono no." Jaune quickly caught her outstretched hands and pinned them to her sides, "Your scythe is quite enough. The last thing we need is you putting a grenade launcher on there."

"Oh come on. It could be soo cool though!" Ruby's eyes lit up with excitement, "Imagine if I had that kind of firepower." It was then that Blake, Pyrrha and Ren reached them.

"That was something else Nora." Pyrrha was smiling at her teammate, "Very impressive."

"Pffft. I just hit stuff really hard" Nora waved a dismissive hand at her compliment, "It's nothing pretty like your fighting."

"It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to work." Yang said as she lifted Weiss from the ground. Nora smiled and lifted her hammer triumphantly.

"So, are we going back to school now? There really is some studying we should be doing." Weiss desperately tried to make her skirt presentable again but it was not happening for her.

"Yes we do have an exam on the history of organized Faunus/Human conflict tomorrow in Professor Oobleck's class." Pyrrha straightened her shoulders, "We should return."

Jaune regarded the group and smiled.

"Well actually, Ruby and I got a little studying in together already yesterday." He stepped sideways towards the little brunette and put an arm around her shoulder, "Soooo…. We are gonna make the most the end of the weekend and go on a little date down to Vale." Ruby blushed hard at the contact but didn't pull away.

"Uhh, I think I need to shower first though." she looked down at her clothes now significantly dirtier and pinker than usual, "and change." They all laughed and agreed they should all take a shower before anything else. Together they made their way to the top of the cliff where they had been launched for initiation.

"Hey you guys go on ahead, we'll catch up" Jaune said as they all reached the top of the cliff. Ruby stopped with him and waved to the rest of the their teams as they walked away. Yang held back a few paces and turned to regard the couple.

"Remember what I said Jaune…" her tone was incredibly serious and her gauntlets were still equipped. She locked eyes with Jaune and held them there for a moment. Then her glare broke into a grin and she kicked her wrists forward, putting _Ember Celica_ away, "Have fun you two." she waved emphatically and ran to catch up with everyone else. Jaune shuddered.

"You were right Ruby. She is scary." He laughed nervously and then turned to her, grabbing hold of both of her hands.

"So what's up? I really need to shower Jaune. I smell gross and I'm covered in Nora dust." Ruby shook even more of the pink stuff out of her hair. Jaune just stared into her eyes for a moment and then looked out over the valley spread out in front of them.

"I just." he paused, "I thought this was a really pretty view and I wanted to share it with just you for a little while." Ruby blushed and squeezed his hand.

"Oh Jaune. That's so sweet." she let go of his hand and moved over close to him, putting her arm around his waist and nuzzling into his chest. Jaune got that stupid grin again and put his arm around her shoulder. She squeezed him again and he winced a little.

"Oww." He shifted slightly under her grip.

"Oh Jaune I'm sorry. Are you hurt?" she pulled away and put her hands gently on his chest plate, "Was it Yang? She never knows how to control herself in sparring."

"No Ruby it's okay." He looked away, embarrassed, "It's actually kinda my fault." Ruby regarded him with confusion, "Well I kinda tricked Yang so Nora could get her and she got me too." Ruby scoffed and hit him playfully in the chest, "Hey oww. I'm hurt remember" She smirked at him.

"Yeah well you deserve it, tricking my sister." She nudged him again, lighter this time and then leaned forward and hugged him gently, "She needs it sometimes. To keep her giant ego down to a reasonable size." They both laughed and Jaune winced again a little at the motion, "Come on, let's get you back so we can shower and then get dinner in the city. It'll bring your aura back and you can heal." She slid away from him and they let their hands fall together, intertwining their fingers.

* * *

 

Vale on a Sunday night was alive with energy. The residents of the city very much believed in working hard and enjoying their off time as much as possible. The many restaurants, movie theatres, concert halls and even the amusement park near the beach were always full on the weekends. Jaune took a little longer returning from the bathroom once they landed because he had to wait in line behind all the other airship passengers. Ruby waited patiently, finding her way over to a mostly empty part of the landing pad and staring across the empty fields outside the city. She scanned the treeline for any sign of movement, always on alert for any possible threat. Even as a huntress in training Ruby understood that protecting civilians was her constant duty and a night as crowded as tonight could be a disaster if even a few Grimm found the city. Luckily it seemed like everything was quiet, the weekends were a time of general happiness and there had been no reported breaches in any of the city's perimeter defenses lately. She sighed, content that it had been the right choice to leave their weapons and armor at home.

Jaune finally emerged from the bathrooms, looking brighter than usual after an airship trip. He had a skip to his step and it looked as if his injury from their team sparring bout earlier had completely healed now.

"Wow, you heal really quick." Ruby smiled as he came over, glad he wasn't hurt anymore.

"Oh yeah, the shower did wonders and my aura might not make me super fast or crazy strong but it seems to like taking care of me." he smiled and reached out for her hand which she happily offered up. They locked fingers and made their way down the sidewalk towards the city proper.

"Where do you want to eat? I just don't wanna go anywhere too fancy. I hate fancy places. You have to be all quiet and use the right fork for your salad and the right fork for your meat. And oh yeah, they always bring you a salad and they never have any good desserts." Ruby looked around, trying to find the sign of a restaurant that caught her eye.

"Why don't we go for noodles? There's this great little noodle shack over under the freeway. It's not very far from here and it's definitely not fancy." Jaune pointed down the street as they reached an intersection.

"Ooh okay yeah, that sounds good." She pulled him off the way he had pointed. Jaune laughed and let himself be drug down the street, slowly catching up and then keeping pace with her.

"So the match today was pretty fun." he offered as he drew up beside her, "That was a good idea, using Blake as bait and picking away at Ren and Pyrrha."

"I had to do something didn't I. You put your two best fighters together, there was no way we were gonna beat them in a direct match." Ruby laughed merrily, "I mean they're just so fast, but Ren went down way easier than I thought he would."

"I think he relies a lot on not getting hit because he's so quick. He doesn't have a whole lot of aura for defense like me or Yang." Jaune frowned a little as he described his teammate's shortcomings.

"That's something to work on then. You can train any aspect, even aura use." Ruby stopped and turned to him, "That's our job as leaders Jaune. We have to keep track of our teams and make them the best they can be."

"I know, I know." Jaune started walking again and Ruby came with him, "We are working on it, he's just really closed off so it's hard sometimes."

"What about Nora and Pyrrha?"

"Well I've just been trying to make Nora understand that there will be things too big for her to just smash. She needs to work on her finesse and close combat skills. I think she could learn a lot from Ren or Pyrrha if she was willing to buckle down and train." Jaune sighed loudly, "She's got so much energy but just always hits the gym. She's definitely the strongest on the team in terms of lifting, but Pyrrha and probably Ren could both pick her apart." Ruby laughed.

"She seems alright though. She'll pick it up eventually if you keep on her."

"And Pyrrha, I don't know what she could possibly do to get better. She's been helping me train a lot though, swords skills, strength training, cardio, aura control, everything. It's incredible really." Ruby shied a little under his praise of the other girl.

"You train together a lot? Like just the two of you?" She asked sheepishly, fidgeting with her cloak with her free hand. Jaune was pretty dense, but even he caught that.

"Yeah. I mean we're teammates, partners. We go up on the roof of the dorm and practice a lot. It's closer than the gym but still really big and open. Plus I have extra encouragement not to let her push me around. You know. Or I'll fall." he tried to laugh away the tension in the air.

"Do you think I could come sometime? And just watch?" Ruby looked at her feet as they walked, "If I would be interrupting that's okay. I just thought it would be cool to watch you train and see how you're getting better." she clenched her cloak hard, balling it up in her fist.

"Uhh yeah. I'm sure that would be fine." Jaune squeezed her hand, "Of course you can come Ruby." she looked to him and smiled and squeezed his hand back.

"Oh is this it?" They had reached a small noodle shack called 'A Simple Wok.' It was really just a counter with a kitchen behind it and a single server, an older man with crazy gray hair and bushy eyebrows to match.

"Yeah this is it. It's like really small and kinda dingy but they have the best food ever." Jaune eagerly pulled her towards the bar and they took their seats. They were both ravenously hungry from their exertion training earlier in the day. They ordered the largest food they could find on the menu and ate in relative silence, shoveling the delicious food down greedily. They finished their orders and sat back with a contented sigh, patting their now full bellies happily.

"Okay you were right. That was delicious. How did you find this place?" Ruby spun around in her stool as she talked.

"It's kind of embarrassing actually. Do you remember that time Cardin shoved me in a locker and launched it away from the school?" Ruby stopped spinning and caught Jaune's embarrassed eyes.

"No way!" she began giggling furiously

"Yeah I kinda landed on some of his stools. I had to pay for them and stuff, but he gave me some food after and it was so good. I come back every chance I get." Jaune blushed as Ruby giggled at him.

"It was like the heavens sent me a little blonde regular." the shopkeep smiled and took their bowls, placing them in a large bin of dirty dishes behind the counter, he then turned and regarded the two sitting there, "Actually. Tonight you eat for free. A thank you for always coming here."

"Oh no I couldn't" Jaune pleaded with the man.

"Yeah it was so good. You have to let us pay you for it." Ruby put on her best puppy dog eyes for the man."

"No, no." he raised a hand in defense and turned away, "I insist, you two are two cute together. Young love is a wonderful thing. You eat for free." The man turned into the back of the store, carrying the dirty dish bin and refusing to hear another word of protest. Jaune and Ruby smile at each other. Jaune pulled a ten lien bill out and left it on the counter.

"It's not for the food. It's for the excellent service." he tucked his wallet away and offered a hand to Ruby. She took it with a smile and hopped off of her stool.

"Well now I have somewhere that I have to show you." Ruby skipped forward, pulling Jaune happily along behind her and he laughed as he tried to keep up.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. You'll see when we get there." Ruby smirked back at him and kept going, back the way they'd come.

"Come on. Not even a hint?" he pleaded.

"Nope. And don't start guessing either." she scolded him as she drug him down the street.

They made their way through the streets like that, Ruby leading the way and Jaune following eagerly behind, gripping her hand and grinning from ear to ear. Finally after maybe fifteen minutes of excited skipping and walking down the streets of Vale they reached a small storefront 'Sweet Magic.'

"Oh, a sweet shop. I should have known." Jaune lauded sarcastically, "Aren't you full?"

"You're never too full for sweets Jaune." she was far too excited about this, and far too determined that there should always be room for candy, "They make rock candy, shaped like dust crystals and in like every color. Come on." She pulled him inside, pointing out all the different varieties as soon as they were through the doors. The store had rock candy in every shade of dust Jaune had ever seen and a few he didn't recognize. "And the different colors are all different flavors. Like the white one is all minty and fresh because it's ice dust. And the red one is kinda tangy because it's fire dust. The dark ones are all really intense flavors like black licorice for the black one and a really strong grape for the purple dust. I don't know what purple dust does, but I guess purple stuff is just usually grape flavored so who knows."

She rattled on and on, explaining it all to a very happy and willing Jaune. As they made their way around the store, she would suggest one she thought he would like and grabbed a few different ones herself until they had a small pile in their arms.

"Don't you think this is enough?" Jaune hefted the stack of crystals in his arm.

"Yeah I guess for your first time. Come on let's buy 'em so we can eat." She ran over to the counter and set down her pile of candies. The large faunus boy behind the counter smiled at her and began checking her items as Jaune caught up and set his down as well. The cashier regarded Jaune curiously, looking at his pile next to hers.

"It's his first time then?" the boy asked Ruby.

"Yeah. I had to bring him here. It's the best candy on Remnant." the boy smiled at Ruby's praise and finished checking their candy into a bag.

"That'll be 24 Lien please." Ruby forked over the cash without hesitation and eagerly grabbed the bag.

"Thanks!" she grabbed Jaune's hand and went for the door.

"Thank You. Have a good night." the cashier waved as they exited the store.

Ruby lead Jaune over to a small bench tucked against a planter near the road. A street lamp lit the area in a warm orange light. There were still plenty of people making their way up and down the streets, though with much less energy than earlier in the night. People were headed home now, or trying to milk the final hours of the weekend with their friends or partners.

"So it's really that good?" Jaune picked up one of the crystals and looked at it with suspicion.

"Oh yeah it's delicious. Watch just try." Jaune shrugged and licked the crystal. It was sweet that's for sure. He was certain it was just pure sugar, crystallized and colored. He smiled though, not wanting Ruby to be disappointed.

"No silly. You eat it like this." Ruby grabbed a crystal of her own and bit down hard, breaking a piece off the end and holding it in her mouth, "Thish way it dissholves and you ghet all the flavuurs." she tried to say around the large chunk or rock candy in her mouth.

"Ahh okay." Jaune chuckled at her exuberance and took a shard of his crystal, biting down hard to break it off. He had to admit, when he ate it this way, he could definitely taste more of the flavor Ruby had claimed this color was. She was right, it was much better this way, "Oh wow, thachs really good." Jaune swallowed the juice in his mouth as the last of the chunk dissolved.

"See I told you. It's the best." Ruby grinned and threw the last of her piece into her mouth. She had devoured that, she really did like this stuff.

They sat together and ate the rest of the rock candies they had chosen. Jaune found that the darker colors were definitely his favorite as their stronger flavours helped to overwhelm the ever present sugariness of the candy. They talked as much as they could through the candy, commenting on the different people who walked by, who looked happy and who looked tired. There were a few people obviously leaving work, even when everyone else was enjoying themselves, someone had to be working. A faunus couple walked by an Ruby couldn't help herself.

"Oh my Oum. Jaune aren't her ears sooo cute?" Ruby subtly motioned with her chin towards the couple as they passed. Jaune looked and saw the girl walking, with her cat like ears proudly atop her head, "They're just like Bl-" Ruby cut herself off and shoved an entire crystal into her mouth. Jaune looked to Ruby in confusion but just shrugged.

"Yeah I guess. I don't know. There weren't a lot of faunus where I grew up so it's still a little weird to me sometimes. I mean like, I don't care, I think they're great like Velvet at school and stuff. I just… I don't know I don't really find it extra attractive." Ruby cocked her head at him but still couldn't speak for the giant candy she had shoved in her mouth, "Yeah I mean, I like girls like you." He smiled at Ruby and grabbed her ears, pulling on them playfully, "I think these are cute." Ruby smiled and blushed at the same time, wiggling her head to free her ears from Jaune's grip. She grunted a little through her full mouth and leaned into him. Jaune chuckled and caught her in a hug, leaving his arm over her shoulder as she sat back up. She finally swallowed and was able to speak again.

"Jaune. Do you ever stop that?"

"What?" he looked at her, a little worried.

"Saying sweet stuff like that? It always make me smile and blush and I just don't know what to do so I hug you and squeeze and I don't wanna let go."

"Oh well, if that's the case then I will just have to come up with even more things like to say. Let's see here." Jaune put his hand to his chin, stroking as if he had a beard there. "Well you are definitely one of the most talented huntresses at school."

"You're gonna have to try harder than that Jaune." she playfully pushed at his chest and he just pulled her closer.

"You never run out of energy, even when everyone around you is falling asleep."

"Yeah, I just eat a lot of cookies." she held her chin high, extremely proud of herself.

"Oh, and you are just drop dead gorgeous. Really, really cute. It's hard sometimes you know, to not just go to mush around you, you're so cute." Jaune turned to her with a smile, knowing he had hit on a good one. Ruby blushed hard and turned away.

"Yeah see. That's what I mean. Stuff like that." she turned suddenly, burying her face in his shoulder and squeezing around his chest. Jaune reached around her and squeezed right back. After a moment or two she loosened a little and they came apart slightly, arms still around each other but a space between them now. Ruby looked up and met Jaune's eyes. She had a sort of glossed over look and was still blushing. Jaune gazed down at her and felt his chest tighten up, she really was just adorable, like a little ball of everything cute wrapped up in a red hood. He reached up and put a single hand on the side of her face, rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

"Hey Ruby" he began nervously.

"Yeah Jaune" she replied sleepily.

"Would it..uhh..would it be okay if I kissed you?" he stammered out.

"You didn't have to ask Jaune." she closed her eyes and leaned into him. Jaune smiled and cursed himself internally but he didn't hesitate. He leaned forward and put his lips lightly against hers. They were moist and full and she tasted like candy. Jaune's head went blank as he sank into the kiss slightly, letting himself fall a little into her lips. He slid his other hand around her back and pulled her in slightly. She wrapped her arms up around his shoulders and then they pulled apart. They just sat there for another second, staring into each other's eyes.

"Wow. Ruby that was.." Jaune was at a loss for words, "wow."

"Yeah it really was." Ruby leaned into his shoulder and nuzzled against his hoodie, letting out a little contented hum. They sat just like that for a while, Jaune holding Ruby gently in the darkening evening. People kept walking by and didn't pay them much mind, the couple didn't notice a single person who passed, for them there was only one other person that mattered at the moment and they were in their arms.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Hello again!
> 
> I'm back from my vacation with a pretty lengthy chapter of "Friends and Loved Ones" for you all to read. I'd like to thank everyone who read during my absence and let the story continue to grow a little all on its own. We are just starting to get into the thick of things with this one and I'm so excited to see what you all think.
> 
> As always, please let me know what you thought of the chapter. This one had another fight scene in it, Nora really stepping up. Thoughts on that would be great as well as how you felt about the second half with Jaune and Ruby's date.
> 
> You're all the best readers I've ever had (also my only readers but thats not the point) you're the best readers ever. Thanks so much for the support and criticism.
> 
> -Zach


	11. Teasing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Ruby rolled over lazily, perfectly content to stay wrapped up in her blankets forever. A gentle beam of sun was running through the window and falling just on the top of her head, warming her hair comfortably, she was snuggled tight in her blankets and having just the best dream about a certain blonde boy, walking her down the paths of Beacon, hands tangled together, laughing about everything without a care in the world.

"Wake up you dolt." Ruby jumped with a little yelp and rolled backwards off her bed, taking the large sheet she had hung over her bunk down to the floor with her. She raised her head slowly from the ground, sheet draped over her like a cheap ghost costume and met her partner's icy stare.

"I'm up. I'm up now see?" Ruby lifted the sheet off herself and stood. Zwei came trotting over and nuzzled his head against her leg.

"Actually Ruby, I'd say you're down." Yang laughed. Ruby shook her head at her sister and reached down to scratch Zwei behind the ears, "Get it. You know because you-"

"Yes Yang." Blake on the opposite side of her bunk sitting and brushing out her long black hair, cut her partner off before she could really get into her unneeded explanation.

"Go Ruby, take your shower. I am not risking you walking in on me again." Weiss was wearing her nightgown still and had not moved her eyes from Ruby.

"Okay, okay I'm going." Ruby stood from petting Zwei and headed for the bathroom, "You could just lock the door you know." she mumbled not so quietly and was hit square in the back of the head with a pillow, "Oum, okay I'm going." Ruby closed the door behind her and the sound of running water leaked out from the crack beneath the door.

"I swear. If she keeps up these late night escapades with Jaune we may have to do something." Weiss crossed her legs and sat down on the edge of her bed. Zwei jumped up next to her and she immediately uncrossed her arms and pulled him onto her lap, petting his back in long calming strokes.

"You're just jealous because you spend every night in here studying." Yang had taken Blake's seat and begun the overly long process of brushing out her mass of hair. Blake was still by her though, ensuring that an entire bed remained between her and the little demon on Weiss's lap.

"I am not." Weiss almost yelled and clenched one fist. The sudden movement startled Zwei enough that he hopped down and trotted away, curling up in the corner. Weiss's face fell and she reached a hand out towards him but he was gone, "I study so I stay at the top of our class. I just think Ruby needs to show a little more discipline. She is our Team Leader after all."

"To be fair Weiss. Her grades haven't slipped and the team practices are really helping all of us." Blake was calmer now that the beast had moved away but was always on edge when he was awake and in the room.

"That may be true. But she still needs to keep it up. She represents our whole team. We're even named after her for Oum's sake." Weiss crossed her arms again in indignation.

"Relax Princess. She's doing fine. Anything happens and we'll say something. Ruby's got it under control." Yang shot Weiss a teasing glance and the white haired girl calmed a little. Ruby emerged from the bathroom at the end of Yang's retort. She was pulling her corset on over her combat skirt.

"Help tie me up Weiss?" she turned her back to her partner and tossed her towel on her bunk. Weiss stood with a huff and stormed into the bathroom. Ruby turned to look at Blake and her sister.

"What was that?" she looked between the two for some sign of what had happened during her short shower.

"She's just upset you and Jaune are so happy" Yang returned to brushing her hair. Blake stepped around the bed, keeping an eye on Zwei and went to help Ruby with her corset, pulling the strings tight and tying a fanciful bow at the base.

"She is a little jealous. But she'll be okay." Blake smiled and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder once she had finished. Ruby looked over her shoulder and smiled at the older girl before grabbing her towel from where she had left it and running it quickly over her hair again, shaking the last water out. Then Ruby sat down on the edge of Weiss's bed and grabbed a hairbrush from the night stand. Her hair wasn't overly long like the rest of her team but it still needed some brushing to look decent. She brought a few of the strokes out in front of her face so she could see the tips of her hair.

"I need to go get it dyed again soon. Yang do you wanna go with me?" Yang set down her brush and stood, stretching both arms high above her head.

"Yeah sure why not. I could do with a visit. My hair always feels awesome after someone else shampoos it for me." Yang shook her head, letting the hair fall naturally over her shoulders in large looping curls. The girls began preparing their school things, making sure they had what they needed for the day in their bags and making final checks to their outfits. Weiss emerged from the bathroom, hair already brushed, clothes on and ready for the day. She picked up her book bag from it's place at the foot of her bed and they all made their way out the door. They opened the door just as Nora and Ren emerged from the opposite dorm.

They all exchanged their pleasant good mornings and Ruby finally asked after Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha went down to the training arena early. But, Jaune's coming soon, he's still getting ready. I think he was a little tired from your 'activities' last night." Nora gave an overly suggestive wink and nudged Ruby in the side with her elbow. Ruby blushed deeply and turned away from Nora who only giggled good naturedly. Jaune then emerged from the dorm room, yawning and only half covering his mouth with his arm.

"Oh hey good morning everyone," he caught himself as he suddenly found himself in a very crowded hallway, then his eyes fell on Ruby. She was still blushing hard from Nora's chiding and seeing Jaune did not help that state at all. Jaune's face broke into a stupid grin and he swept Ruby into a firm hug, pressing her slender form against his chest plate and kissing her deeply. Ruby let out a surprised little 'eep' as she was pulled towards him and had her hands kind of trapped at her sides by his arms. He didn't hold her there long but abruptly let her go when Yang loosed an audible, pointed cough. He pulled away and stared into her silver eyes.

"Sorry, I just missed her a lot." Jaune shook his head a little and caught Yang's gaze still locked on him.

"You watch yourself there Jaune. That's my little sister." Jaune loosed his grip on Ruby and she relaxed her stance. She stayed by his side but made no move to grab his hand or move closer.

"We should be heading to class." Ren motioned down the hallway with a rather eloquent sweep of his arm and Blake nodded her head.

"Yeah. Goodwitch will be upset if all of us are late." the entire group felt the tension Between Yang and Jaune and slowly began to file down the hallway. Ruby and Jaune hung back so that they could walk side by side, Yang respectfully gave them some distance, walking ahead of them with the rest of the group.

Jaune reached over and grasped Ruby's hand, weaving his fingers between hers. Ruby grasped his hand as well, but maintained her blush and looked away at the corner of the floor.

"I'm sorry Ruby. I just...I spent all night remembering our kiss and then I saw you…" he was obviously flustered and realized he had made a mistake. He looked longingly at Ruby, just wanting her to say something. Ruby squeezed his hand and rubbed the toe of her boot into the plush rug.

"It's okay Jaune. I understand." she looked up at him and forced a big smile, "Come on, let's go to class." She pulled on his hand and they walked off after the rest of the group.

Classes came and went like they usually do on Mondays. Everyone drudged through, managing to stay awake in Professor Port's and struggling to keep up in Dr. Ooblecks, what was in that coffee? The end of classes for the day came too late for most people's tastes and Ruby and Jaune's exhaustion from being out so late on Sunday was showing.

Ruby walked along the path back from her last class towards the dorms, her head was drooping and she had her hood up, blocking the late afternoon sun from her eyes. Only her older sister was with her as Team JNPR had a session with Dr. Oobleck because Jaune had fallen asleep in class and Weiss and Blake had both gone to the cafeteria for dinner.

"Uggh, so tired. I can barely move." She drug her feet slowly one after the other.

"Oh come on Rubes. It can't be that bad. You were barely out until 11." Yang gave her a playful pat on the back. Ruby jerked her head up, throwing her hood back in the process and stared at Yang with heavy, bagged eyes.

"I couldn't sleep though. I stayed up in bed super late because we had a bunch of candy right before we came home." she dropped her head again and bucked her shoulders forward, throwing the hood back over her head. "I was excited to see Jaune this morning, but now I'm just tired." Yang laughed good naturedly at her little sister.

"Well that's the price you have to pay for having a boyfriend." her happy laugh faded to an awkward chuckle and she looked forlornly at the top of Ruby's cloak for a moment before starting up again, "Hey, Ruby. Can I ask something?"

Ruby grunted from under her cloak, a noise of approval.

"This morning with Jaune, in the hallway. What was that?" Ruby lifted her head much slower now and found her sister's violet eyes falling on her, full of concern.

"I don't know. That was really new. We only had our first kiss ever last night. He's usually really shy about everything and even asked if he could hold my hand the first time." Yang looked to the sky and hummed in thought.

"Well, how did you feel about it? About him kissing you like that this morning I mean." Yang let her eyes fall back on Ruby and they came to a stop in the middle of the path.

"I don't know. I was really excited to see him this morning too after we kissed last night and it was a really nice kiss. But, everyone was there and it was really weird to just do that right in front of everyone. I was really embarrassed." Ruby clutched at her cloak with both hands below her waist, fidgeting with the hem. Her gaze fell to her feet.

"Well if it bothered you, or if he starts doing things like that a lot you should talk to him." Yang reached over and put a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. Ruby looked up and met Yang's eyes again. She slumped forward and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Thanks Yang. You're being really really awesome about this." Yang laughed in good spirit again, she wrapped one arm around Ruby and patted her back with the other.

"I just want you to be happy little sis'," they pulled apart and Ruby was sporting a half-hearted smile.

"Well to be happy right now I need to get some sleep. Like now." Her smile widened and she started off towards the dorms again, a little more pep in each step than before.

Ruby rolled over and yawned, stretching her arms above her head as she sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked out the window, the sun was setting over the coast now which meant she must have gotten a good two or three hours of sleep in. She glanced around the room and found a pair of amber eyes watching her from the shadow of the bottom bunk.

"Good morning sleepyhead," Blake smiled and folded her book shut on her lap, tucking the ribbon that hung off the spine in between the pages to hold her place.

"Hey Blake," Ruby hopped down off the bunk and landed lightly on her feet, "Where is everybody else?"

"Well Yang went off to the gym to workout with Nora and Weiss retreated to the library to study." Blake sat up and pulled her legs under her, coiling up onto herself. Ruby moved to her dresser and searched for some clothes to change into, out of her pajamas.

"I hope Jaune is done with whatever Dr. Oobleck is having them do." Ruby found a simple, deep red t-shirt and stripped off her night shirt to switch. Blake turned her eyes away until Ruby spoke again, "I can't believe he fell asleep in class." Blake glanced over to reply and found Ruby leaned over, pulling her sweat pants down around her ankles to change into a pair of shorts. Blake blushed hard and coughed a little in surprise. Ruby split her knees apart and looked at Blake through the gap between her legs, then jumped with a start and fell over on her head with a little scream. Blake reached a hand out to help but recoiled hesitantly as Ruby was now folded in half, butt directly up in the air clad only in a rather thin pair of panties. Ruby rolled the rest of the way over with a small grunt and darted behind the bathroom door. Slamming it shut behind her in a flurry of rose petals.

"Oh my Oum Blake I'm so sorry I wasn't even thinking." her voice whined out from behind the door. Blake recovered herself slightly.

"It's alright Ruby. Are you okay?" Ruby sighed and rubbed her head.

"Yeah I'm okay. I think I'm just too embarrassed to ever leave the bathroom ever again though. Could you slip me cookies under the door sometimes?" Blake couldn't help but laugh slightly at her leader's attitude. She slid off her bed and grabbed a cookie from a box Ruby had left on the ground beneath her and Weiss's beds. She tiptoed over to the door and carefully slid it under the heavy wood. Ruby let out an excited yelp and the door flew open, nearly bashing Blake in the face if her trained reflexes hadn't pulled her out of the way in time. Ruby charged out of the bathroom, shorts now firmly in place and cookie clenched between her teeth and tackled Blake in a hug, wrapping her arms around the other girl's neck. Blake smiled and Ruby giggled before letting her go and devouring the cookie.

"Ahh, not too embarrassed I see." Blake smiled slightly and returned to her bed.

Ruby followed her over and plopped down in the center of the mattress, Blake curled up near the headboard, leaning back on the pillows.

"So Blake, what'cha reading?" Ruby craned her neck around, trying to read the cover of the book Blake had left behind. Blake lifted the novel and handed it to Ruby. Ruby gently took it in her hands.

"This is the fifth in the series I gave you to read the other night." Ruby had opened the book to scan a few random pages in the middle but quickly closed it.

"Ahhh spoilers." She closed her eyes and pushed the book back to Blake, turning her face away as if the book might force its secrets into her eyes. Blake chuckled and took the book back from her, "I really wanna read that still I just haven't had time lately." Ruby looked up at the clock over their door and then out the window at the descending sun. She rolled off the bed and grabbed her scroll, "I'll just let Jaune know I'm in her reading with you and to come get me when he's done." Ruby shot the message off and tossed the scroll onto Blake's bed. She grabbed the novel Blake had leant her and returned to her spot by the faunus girl's feet. Blake scooted towards the wall and patted the spot next to her by the pillows. Ruby smiled and scooted in next to her teammate. They both settled down to read, content smiles on their faces.

An hour or so passed and the two girls had yet to speak a word. Ruby had mowed through a significant chunk of her novel and she took a moment at the end of a chapter to glance over at Blake. Blake's bow was off in the room as her whole team knew now and it was much more comfortable without it. Ruby looked up at her cat like ears both turned slightly to the sides. Ruby watched as her eyes flew across the page, her ears twitched slightly and Ruby figured she must be at a particularly riveting point in the story. Blake turned the page and let her eyes wander over to Ruby who immediately swung her head back into her novel, trying to act as if she hadn't just been staring at her friend's ears. Blake hummed quietly, a quiet askance of Ruby's reaction.

"I'm sorry I was just looking at your ears. It's really cute how they twitch when you read." Ruby looked down at her lap, "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't stare." Blake's face warmed with compassion and she put a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"That's alright Ruby. I know you like them and you don't mean anything by it." Ruby smiled up at her and then fidgeted with her fingers.

"Blake, can I uhh…" she trailed off and shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, it's dumb." Blake cocked her head to the side.

"What Ruby?" Ruby sighed.

"Can I touch your ears? I've kinda been wondering what they feel like." Ruby looked away at the other side of the room in embarrassment. Blake chuckled quietly. She grabbed Ruby's hand and moved it up to her ears, bowing her head slightly so Ruby didn't have to stretch. Ruby turned back to Blake with surprise.

"Just be gentle, they're very sensitive." Blake carefully placed Ruby's hand between her ears and the younger girl's face split open in a wide smile. She slowly moved her fingers to cup the back of Blake's right ear and stroked down along the length of it. She gently ran her fingers the same direction as the small patch of fur ran, being careful not to press overly hard.

"Ohhh, they're sooo soft!" Ruby giggled and retracted her hand happily, "Oh Blake thank you. I hope that wasn't weird or anything." Blake lifted her head and smiled at the younger girl.

"Not at all Ruby. It was only fair of me." Blake smirked at Ruby's confused look, "I did get to see your butt after all." Blake's grin widened as Ruby's face turned the same color as her shirt and she flipped over, burying her face in the pillows. Blake laughed lightly and Ruby's scroll buzzed where it sat on the bed. Ruby extended her hand behind her, refusing to lift her face from it's comfortable shelter. Blake stretched down to the other side of the bed and grabbed the scroll. The message was from Jaune. She handed it to Ruby and she lifted just enough to fit the scroll between her face and the pillows.

"Oh, he's all done training for the night. He wants me to meet him at the cafeteria for some dinner." she turned from her scroll, now mostly recovered, "You wanna come?" Blake shook her head calmly.

"Oh no that's alright. Thank you though." Blake responded. Ruby smiled and hopped up from the bed. She straightened her shirt and patted at her shorts.

"How do I look." She did a quick little spin for Blake.

"Fantastic Ruby." Blake said softly. Ruby made a pffft noise and giggled.

"Thanks for lying Blake. See you in a bit." With that she jumped to the door and was gone. Blake sighed and returned to her book, resting a hand on the spot where Ruby had been sitting while she read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - I hope you all thought that was a fun chapter. Sorry it's up a little later today than usual I was up last night putting fine touches on the second to last chapter of "Clubbin' " and then overslept and didn't get up early enough to publish this when I usually do. So, that does mean that tomorrow's chapter of "Clubbin' " will be the last. 
> 
> Right, "Friends and Loved Ones" this story. Lots more little hints and well.. teases in this one. I'd still love to hear all of your thoughts and ideas of what's going on so far. The story is really starting to get rolling now so please keep reading.
> 
> -Zach


	12. Cat Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Jaune's blade came up and clashed against _Milo_. He brought his shield up to catch Pyrrha's attack and pushed it off to one side, following with a quick counter. Pyrrha flowed with the momentum of his block, ducking down and spinning to the side of his strike. She came up on the back side of his sword arm and brought her blade down hard against his shoulder. Jaune yelped at the direct hit and fell to the rooftop, panting heavily. Pyrrha sighed.

"Jaune you had been doing so much better. You're…" she paused and looked over the slightly higher outcrop of building which housed the door they used to get to the roof, seated firmly atop this structure was a very interested little brunette in a combat skirt, "You're off tonight. Is something wrong?" Jaune picked himself up from the ground and brushed off with a groan.

"I'm okay. I'm just a little distracted I guess." he swung his sword arm in a large circle, trying to stretch out the shoulder that had just taken a hit.

"I'm sorry," Ruby jumped down from her perch and made no move to approach the two, "I didn't want to interrupt your training. I just wanted to watch. I can leave." Ruby turned to the door without hesitation.

"Ruby, I didn't-" Pyrrha started but Jaune cut her off.

"No Ruby don't go. I need to be able to fight in front of you. I should fight better around you." Jaune straightened his back and stood tall then lowered into a deep stance, readying his weapons, "Let's go again." Pyrrha shook her head and struck her stance.

"As you will." she readied her weapons.

Ruby jumped back up to the slightly higher roof where she was well out of the way of their combat.

Jaune waited, shield at the ready, sword held high. Pyrrha sprang forward, Jaune caught her blow on his shield and lunged forward with a committed thrust. Pyrrha pushed her shield into the side of the thrust, ducked and pushed it high, went under Jaune's arm came around behind him and struck her hilt against his back.

"Focus Jaune, not so aggressive." Pyrrha instructed as Jaune stumbled forward and spun around to meet her.

He swung his blade around for her shoulder and was easily parried. Jaune swung his shield into guard and caught her counter square in the middle. He bucked forward hard and repulsed her attack, following with an underhand swing that she caught on her buckler. He bounced the strike off her shield and brought it all the way over his head to come crashing down towards her. Pyrrha stepped slightly off to the side and jabbed forward with her blade, catching Jaune in the ribs mid-swing and knocking him off balance. He stumbled and swung his shield into a guard, anticipating a counter attack which did not come.

"Jaune, you have to wait for your chance to strike. You can't force it." Pyrrha shook her head again and darted forward.

She put her shield forward, charging under its guard. Jaune brought a wide swing around, aiming to meet her more exposed shoulder. She ducked the blow, falling to a crouch and spinning. She folded her blade out into a spear as she spun and swept the haft at his legs, knocking Jaune onto his back. She spun to a stand, flipping her spear back into a blade and ended the sweep standing over Jaune, the blade's tip at his throat.

"You're going to get yourself killed fighting that recklessly." Jaune's muscles went lax and he collapsed into the rooftop, letting his arms fall at his sides. Pyrrha sheathed her blade with a small flourish and Jaune groaned heavily and loudly. She sighed and looked over to Ruby, then closed her eyes and called out to the girl, "Ruby, would you mind maybe helping us a little?" Ruby's head shot up in surprise and she sat at attention.

"Me?" she pointed to herself, "Sure, how can I help." she hopped down to their level, "I mean what do you want me to do. Anything." She trotted over with a smile.

"Well, I was thinking that perhaps, if Jaune were to watch us spar, that it may calm his mind and give him some insight." Pyrrha looked to Ruby as she approached and made the offer as softly and politely as she could. Ruby let a small grin reach her face and flipped her massive scythe off her back, unfolding _Crescent Rose_ to its full size and letting it rest on her shoulder.

"Sure Pyrrha, if you think it would help." Ruby grinned and Jaune shook his head side to side hard.

"Oh no, I'm really not sure that's the best idea." He stood quickly and waved his hands back and forth.

"No really," Pyrrha tried to assure him, "Really Jaune it would help for you to see someone else fight me. Especially someone as talented as Ruby." Ruby smiled at the compliment.

"It's not really all me. I have to thank my sweet heart here," Ruby petted the long sides of _Crescent Rose_ lovingly, a gleam in her eye that Jaune would have killed to have directed at him, "Come on Jaune." Ruby sank the scythe lightly into the roof before shooting forward to grab Jaune and then firing off to her previous spot in a flurry of rose petals and depositing the blonde boy there for safekeeping. She gave him a sly wink and flashed back to where she had left her weapon. Pyrrha brushed several petals off her shoulder and Ruby giggled, "Oh," she snorted slightly in her laughter, "Sorry that happens."

"Yes, I have noticed." Pyrrha gave Ruby a polite smile and readied her weapons. Ruby glanced around the rooftop and then back to the other girl with a sigh.

"Now this isn't really fair is it? It's so small here and I'm a ranged specialist." Pyrrha eased her stance and cocked her head to the side.

"And what do you suggest? We can hardly move somewhere larger without losing the rest of the evening."

"Well let's just say no semblance use then." Ruby smiled and yanked her scythe free of the rooftop. "It'll slow me down and handicap you."

"I can agree to that." Pyrrha nodded her head, "I never use my semblance when training with Jaune so it would do little for him to watch me fight with it." Ruby's smile widened and she leapt back several feet whirling her scythe above her head as she did so.

"Alright. This is gonna be fun. Let's go Pyrrha." Both girls smiled and struck their battle ready poses, Jaune groaned.

The sound of _Milo_ and _Crescent Rose_ coming together rang out again and again from the small rooftop as Ruby and Pyrrha clashed. Ruby was trying desperately to stay out of arm's reach because Pyrrha was just unstoppably fast at that range and _Crescent Rose_ needed plenty of room to maneuver. She hopped away from a long slash and flipped up and over an air duct that protruded from the top of the building. She used the slight buffer of the obstacle to give her a moment to slide her scythe's handle down a bit, not wielding it in its fully extended form, instead opting for the shorter handled variant. This would give her the maneuverability she needed in these tight quarters.

Pyrrha Rolled _Milo_ in her grip, allowing it to fold back into a sword as she made her way around the air duct Ruby was hiding behind. Pyrrha raised her shield as she came around the corner, catching a neck severing strike from _Crescent Rose_. She spun with the force down into a crouch and swung at Ruby's legs. Unfortunately the girl was quick enough to jump the strike. Pyrrha rolled on instinct off to the side and thanked Oum for her combat experience as the massive blade of Ruby's ridiculous weapon sank into the rooftop where Pyrrha had been moments before.

Ruby kicked backwards, freeing her blade from the roof and putting distance between herself and Pyrrha with a single motion. Pyrrha charged at her, jumped to the side, bounded off of the air duct Ruby had been using as cover and brought an overhand strike towards Ruby's head. The duct dented as she launched off of it. Ruby twirled her weapon in a tight circle over her head to deflect the blow but it never came.

Pyrrha pulled her sword back as she came hurtling down at Ruby. Her move had been so telegraphed there was no way it would ever hit. Instead she tucked into a tight roll, slipped under Ruby's guard and stooped in a crouch behind her. She leveled her sword and prepared to plunge it forward.

Ruby saw a flash of red as Pyrrha's ponytail flipped through the air. The older girl had ducked under her guard and gotten too close to Ruby for the whirling scythe to be effective. So Ruby finished the overhead twirl with the blade behind her, sniper barrel pointed directly at Pyrrha and slipped her finger under the trigger guard to fire.

"Uhh guys…" Jaune's voice called out unsteadily from the far side of the roof. Ruby and Pyrrha both halted, blows poised and ready to be unleashed, and whipped their heads around to face him. Jaune shuddered under the intensity of their combined gaze, but Professor Goodwitch did not.

.

.

.

Headmaster Ozpin's office was large and ornate. A huge, sprawling desk with direct access to the CCT and all of the schools systems sat opposite the doors. From his windows he could overlook the entire campus and the city of Vale beyond. Beacon's headmaster sat atop one of the most recognizable structures on Remnant at the head of one of the most prestigious schools and was in charge of arguably the most talented Huntresses and Huntsmen the world had yet seen.

"There were several complaints from the fourth year students on the top floor of the dormitories. I went to investigate the cause and found these two fighting in front of Jaune Arc like some sort of show. They had absolutely wreaked havoc on the building and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon." Professor Goodwitch gave her report to the Headmaster in a tight, succinct voice that barely managed to hide her anger and disappointment with the two girls standing behind her, staring pointedly at the floor.

"And you were able to repair the damage Glynda?" Headmaster Ozpin was leaning against the edge of his desk, coffee cup in hand despite the late hour. He followed his question with a long but shallow sip, pulling whatever mysterious drink he had there into his mouth slowly.

"Yes sir, of course I was." Glynda replied curtly

"Thank you." Headmaster Ozpin nodded to her and stood from the where he was leaning. Standing firm and unslouched the headmaster struck a rather imposing figure, quite tall and well built with lean muscle evident even beneath his thick scarf and formal attire. "That will be all Glynda, thank you." Professor Goodwitch turned sharply to face the two girls, gave them a final, withering stare and then strutted off towards the elevators, somehow able to stomp every step despite her heels. Headmaster Ozpin waited until the elevator doors had closed on Glynda before letting out a deep sigh. He turned about and walked slowly back to his chair and seated himself without a word.

"Headmaster Ozpin, I'm so sorry. We were just sparring and I guess it got a little out of hand. At first it was really friendly but I got kinda competitive and Pyrrha is really really good so she started trying harder then we were getting really crazy-" Ruby started in hot and heavy but the Headmaster raised a calm hand and she fell silent.

"You girls are aware that this academy has very fine training rooms and open air arenas meant for practice bouts are you not?" He looked between them calmly.

"Yes sir." they both replied sullenly as one.

"We even allow students to venture into the surrounding wilderness in order to train in a more natural setting as I've noticed both your teams taking advantage of recently." Ozpin continued in a controlled, even tone.

"Yes sir." they replied again.

"So why is it that you felt the need to hold your impromptu sparring match on the roof of the dorms? Urban combat training perhaps?" He asked with an intonation to his voice that made Ruby think he was more offering than asking.

"No sir." Pyrrha responded before Ruby had a chance, "I train with Jaune, my team leader on the rooftop every night to help him. His abilities are not…" she paused, "They're not what he wants them to be and so he asked for extra help. He didn't want anybody to know so we picked a more secluded spot." Pyrrha finished her explanation and fell silent once more. Ozpin nodded his head, taking in the information and then began to sip at his mug once more.

"I was watching tonight and then Pyrrha asked me to spar her too and it just got really, really out of hand. I'm sorry." Ruby stepped forward, hands clasped under her chin in a desperate plea for mercy. She was already at Beacon two years early under special circumstances, the last thing she needed was some type of disciplinary blemish on her record.

"Why were you there tonight Ms. Rose? I thought Mr. Arc didn't want anyone knowing about his secret training?" Ozpin set the coffee mug down and folded his hands calmly beneath his chin. Both girls looked back to the ground, too embarrassed to describe their personal lives to the Headmaster. "And further. If the purpose was to train young Mr. Arc, then why were the two of you sparring?"

"Because I was jealous sir." Ruby responded suddenly. Headmaster Ozpin leaned back in his chair without a noise and nodded his head for her to continue. "Jaune and I are dating now, but he still spends every night training with Pyrrha. I know they're partners and I shouldn't care but I can't help it so I wanted to come watch them train so Jaune remembered I was his girlfriend." Ruby's head hung low and she let her hands fall limply in front of her, all pretense gone.

"Now Ms. Rose. Jealousy is a dangerous beast. They are teammates, he's her leader. They will, most likely, spend more time together than he does with you. Just think of how close you are with your sister, or Ms. Schnee, or even Ms. Belladonna." The Headmaster leaned forward and gave Ruby an intense stare, one that rooted her to the spot and drowned her in her own foolishness.

"Ruby, you don't need to be jealous of Jaune and I. I'm so sorry you felt that way." Pyrrha stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the slim brunette's shoulders. "I had my chance Ruby, he's chosen you hasn't he?" Ruby eye's opened in surprise.

"Really? Do you really feel that way?" Ruby pulled out of Pyrrha's arms and turned to face her, now completely ignoring the Headmaster. "I've been so worried this whole time, before we even started dating, that I was like, stealing him from you or something. I didn't wanna hurt you Pyrrha." Pyrrha dropped her hands and clasped both of Ruby's and pulled them up between them.

"Oh Ruby. You are so sweet." There were tears beginning to well up in Pyrrha's eyes, "No Ruby, I don't want to get in the way of your happiness either." Ruby ripped her hands free and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the taller girl's waist. Pyrrha let her arms fall back around Ruby and squeezed her against her chest.

"Yes well," the Headmaster cleared his throat rather loudly, "There is still the matter of your discipline." Both girls jerked away from each other and returned to their positions in front of his desk, heads bowed in shame.

"Sorry sir," they said in a single, embarrassed voice.

"No, that's quite alright. We seem to have tackled the heart of the issue." he picked up his coffee and stood slowly. "However, Glynda will be furious with me if there aren't any consequences." Both girls gasped quietly, fearful of what might come. "So, neither of you will be allowed on the roof from this point forward." Ozpin turned on his heel and looked out over the school from one of his many panoramic windows. "I will have one of the sparring classrooms reserved for use by either Team RWBY or Team JNPR so that you may continue training Mr. Arc. But, there must be no further issues between the two of you." He turned back to face the girls. "Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." they both chimed in relief.

"Well, you best be off. School starts early tomorrow." Ozpin took a sip of his cup and looked between the two shocked girls.

"Thank you so much." Ruby nearly screamed and bolted for the elevator. She began mashing the button and looked back to Pyrrha. "Come on." Pyrrha hesitated.

"Thank you sir." she said quietly. Ozpin raised his mug slightly in acknowledgement and turned back to the window. Pyrrha smiled in thanks and then strode back to the now waiting elevator.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - So that's a rather short one. Today for me is honestly about the ending of "Clubbin' " so I kept this one a little brief. I got everything done that I wanted to, just clipped a few sections that weren't absolutely necessary. I feel like I always write out far too much of the fight scenes and stuff anyways, and anymore from Glynda may have made her overly harsh. Ahh well, thanks so much for reading, please let me know what you thought.
> 
> Next chapter will be out on Tuesday.
> 
> -Zach


	13. Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The next morning came and went like a summer storm for Jaune, dazed as he was by the exhaustion from the previous night. He had waited up in the hallway for both Ruby and Pyrrha to return, wanting to ensure that nothing horrendous had come from their punishment. Professor Goodwitch was incredibly strict, and she had taken them to see Headmaster Ozpin. He hadn't interacted with the Headmaster much but his attitude with the whole launching students into the forest full of deadly monsters from the top of a cliff on their first day at school thing seemed to tell Jaune all he needed to know about the man. He must be absolutely insane. Only by lunch time did the whirlwind of activity seem to slow and his world came into focus as Ruby and Pyrrha explained the night's events.

"So you're saying he gave us a training room?" Yang asked through a mouth half full of sandwich.

"Yes, Headmaster Ozpin was kind enough to provide a place for both of our teams to train." Pyrrha nodded her head in Yang's direction to emphasize her confirmation of the blonde's suspicions.

"You two are the only ones that can turn getting caught by Goodwitch into a good thing," Nora laughed at Ruby and Pyrrha's embarrassed looks.

"He was just really cool about it. I mean we do still have to train." Ruby reached down and grabbed a strawberry from her plate, eating it whole save for the leafy green top.

"That is true." Ren gave Ruby a warm smile, "But it was still very kind of the Headmaster to reserve a room specifically for our use.

"Yeah Rubes, think about it. We can train like whenever we want in there." Yang brandished the remaining half of her sandwich at her younger sister like an over zealous professor with a pointing stick.

"I'm just glad we didn't get punished. I kinda feel like it was my fault." Jaune hung his head. "If I had been focused then Ruby and Pyrrha wouldn't have sparred and we wouldn't have got caught."

"Nonsense Jaune," Pyrrha's voice was melodic as she tried to reassure her partner, "We would have been caught eventually. It just happened to be the night Ruby was with us."

"Yeah right." Nora practically yelled despite their close quarters at the lunch table, "It was definitely the giant holes Ruby was putting in the ceiling." Pyrrha seemed slightly flustered that her attempt to placate Jaune had been thwarted but Ruby wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead she wore a look of immense pride.

"It's not my fault they make the roof so thin. This is a hunting school isn't it?" Ruby laughed and her sister joined right in. Those two were not good for the architecture's longevity, not to mention Nora and how competitive she felt around Yang.

"You should all feel lucky you weren't expelled. I mean honestly, what were you thinking? Having a sparring match on the roof. That's simply ridiculous." Weiss folded her hands in her lap and sat straight as a rod, looking far too regal and elegant for their school cafeteria surroundings.

"You know Ice Queen, you could at least be happy for them. You don't-" The ring of the bell for classes cut Yang's retort short and Jaune thanked Oum that they were all spared another of the two's vicious arguments.

"We will continue this after our classes." Weiss stood and gave Yang a steely glare and then strutted away with a huff.

"Oh yay! Maybe we can use the new room for you guys to fight." Nora jumped from her seat in excitement, "Wednesday! Wednesday! Wednesday!" she started up in a mock announcer's voice, holding her hand to her mouth as if she had a mic. "The showdown of the semester, Fire and Ice, Xiaolong and Schnee! Get your tickets at the door."

"You're not allowed to sell tickets Nora." Ren reached up and pulled her from the bench she was standing on.

"Awwww Renny come on! Why not?" Nora whined as she fell off the bench and landed on her feet in front of him.

"We have class now Nora. Come on." Ren reached down and grasped her hand, pulling her away towards their next classes.

"I'll see guys for fight night!" Nora called out over her shoulder and Ren waved as the two departed.

"I'll see you all later." Blake returned from depositing her lunch tray at a nearby trash can, "Ruby, please don't let Yang and Weiss fight."

"I'll try Blake." Ruby gave her a big smile and waved as she walked away, "I gotta get to class Jaune." She turned to her boyfriend.

"Oh yeah, me too." Jaune started at the thought of class. His was pretty far away and Professor Peach would be mad if he was late, if she was even in class today. Jaune hoped she was, they always had Port as a sub and he could only take so much of the man in a single day. He was brought back to reality as he felt Ruby's arms slip around his waist and bring him into a warm hug. Jaune smiled as he felt his insides just turn to mush at the absolute joy the gesture gave him. He wrapped his arms around her in return and gave her a little squeeze back. Ruby pulled away but he left his hands on her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. Ruby's eyes went a little wide at the contact and she sort of froze. It was really adorable how cute she was when he kissed her like that. It was like he could always catch her off guard with these little spontaneous gestures.

"Alright, I'm gonna go then." Yang said loudly enough that Jaune pulled away.

"Oh, alright, bye Yang." Jaune waved to her, leaving his other hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"I have to make it to class as well. I may have to warn our Professor that Ren is dealing with Nora and may be a little late again. Pyrrha sighed inwardly and went trotting off after Ren and the destructive little redhead.

"Umm, Jaune." Ruby said quietly from his side. He looked down and saw her blushing, her cheeks nearly matching the tips of her hair. They were alone now and he let his hand fall down to hold her's between them.

"Yeah?"

"I really do have to go," she said quietly, "But uhh wanna meet up after classes are over?"

"Of course," He flashed her a smile, "Pyrrha and I were gonna check out the new training room. It's one we've never used before."

"Oh uhh yeah. Okay that sounds good," she gave him a weak smile.

"Have fun in class." Jaune swept down again and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Ruby smiled under her blush and gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"I'll text you." she released his hand and set off at a light jaunt towards her class. Jaune watched her depart for a moment and then turned to get to his class. He would definitely be late at this point and decided that another lecture from Port was better than Professor Peach's wrath and prayed she was absent again.

"Hey Arc, hold up," Jaune stopped at Yang's voice. He was already late so what could it hurt.

"Yeah what's up?" He turned to find the burly blonde strolling towards him, shoulders squared.

"That was one heck of goodbye kiss." Yang came to within a few feet of him and Jaune was suddenly reminded of just how much she could bench, and it was over four times his body weight.

"Uhh yeah," he laughed nervously and rubbed at the nape of his neck, "It'll be a long couple of classes until I see her again." He tried to laugh again but not much made its way out.

"Just remember that's my baby sister okay?" Yang peered at him through a curtain of blonde hair.

"Yeah, yeah totally." Jaune waved his arms about in front of him defensively and began to retreat a step. "I really gotta go. I have class with Professor Peach next."

"Alright then." Yang's very serious face eased into a smile and she turned to go. Jaune took the chance and sped off towards his class, casting a wayward glance over his shoulder to see Yang had turned back around and was watching him leave.

* * *

 

Professor Peach was indeed absent again and Jaune was able to sneak in the back of the class during a particularly animated portion of Port's retelling of a brave young warrior slaying ten griffons single handedly and without a weapon. Jaune eased himself into a seat in the back row and let his mind wander.

He still couldn't believe that he and Ruby were really dating. He never would have thought in a million years that he would actually be able to be with a girl quite as amazing as she was. It blew him away that she apparently liked him back about as much as he liked her. Every time he got to sit and watch a tv show with her or when she would text him good morning and meet him in the hallway, have one of their long conversations in the hall before bed or do all the other things they did together; it just made him so happy he wondered how he had trudged along before without that feeling.

The way he felt about Ruby now was definitely different from what he had thought of Weiss and even different from how he had felt about Ruby when they had started dating. With Weiss he had been attracted to her appearance, and her status as one of the most desirable girls on campus. He really didn't care about her name or her money, that wasn't it. He had been interested in the idea of proving himself by being able to date a girl like her. When he had gotten shot down time after time his self-confidence had taken a huge hit and Jaune was sure he would never find someone.

Then all of this with Ruby started. Sure she was very cute. But now that he spent this much time with her Jaune was convinced that on a cuteness scale she was way above a box full of newborn puppies and a close rival to the best cat videos on the CCT. No, forget that, she was definitely better than the cat videos. Plus she had that corgi, and that little guy was already a total ten on the adorable scale so that made Ruby like what? An eight million and ten? Yeah that sounded about right.

Jaune loved how he could pick her up when they hugged and the fact that she had to stand on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek. The way she blushed and got so flustered when he leaned down to kiss her without warning. The little noises she made when they hugged, like a baby panda. She was all of these unbelievably adorable things, then she got out her scythe.

When Ruby had _Crescent Rose_ in her hands she became a woman possessed, dealing death to any Grimm that approached her and certain doom to most any hunter that came near. Jaune had never seen her lose a sparring match in class, or even really seem like she was being pushed very hard. Sure she wasn't quite on Pyrrha's level or Yang's, but she was two years younger than all of them. By the time she was their age, Jaune was sure that his adorable little Ruby would be going toe to toe with fully trained, professional Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Jaune was pulled out of his thoughts by a buzz in his pocket. Ruby was saying that she wanted him to meet her by the library before they went to check out the new training room, she said she had a lot of studying to do for a test her professor had just told them about. Jaune replied that that sounded fine and then sent a quick update over to Pyrrha that he would catch up with her after seeing Ruby off to her study session. She didn't reply right away and he knew she wouldn't. She was in a practical weapon's course that involved a lot of hands on training. Not that she needed it, but it was part of the curriculum.

Jaune spent the rest of that class and the next idly thinking about all the different parts of Ruby he appreciated. Her never quit attitude, her undying devotion to hunting and her team, her cute little bangs tipped in red that just matched her cloak. The final bell for the day rang and he made a beeline for the library. Having spent the last four hours thinking about not much other than her had made him miss her intensely.

Ruby was waiting just outside the massive building, she had a small bag which was undoubtedly full of school supplies and was staring off across a field, watching several other students run drills with hulking swords lead by the ever intimidating Yatsuhashi. Jaune stopped for a moment to watch her as she watched them. Her hands were clasped at her waist on the strap of the book bag and she was wearing her hooded cloak over her school uniform in a blatant but clearly ignored violation of the school's dress code. He would have been content to watch her for a while longer, with her messy hair blowing in the light breeze but they both had things to do and so he snuck up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, giving her neck a light kiss.

"Hey there beautiful." Jaune said as lovingly as he could, "Miss me? I know I missed you." Ruby turned in his arms to face him and gave him a quick hug back.

"Hey Jaune," the little brunette pulled away and grabbed hold of both of his hands, "Yeah I did. How was class?"

"It was good. Professor Peach wasn't there, so we had Port." Jaune laughed, "I didn't have to worry about being late though."

"You were late?" Ruby hit playfully at his shoulder.

"Yeah just a little." Jaune grinned in embarrassment, "I was kinda busy kissing someone goodbye and then Yang talked to me and stuff. A lot happened." He laughed again, surprised as he thought about it that he had even made it to class as early as he did.

"Yang stopped you?" Ruby dropped his other hand, letting her hands fall back together to clutch the strap of her book bag.

"Yeah. She wanted to talk to me about the way I kissed you. Said to remember that you were still her little sister." Jaune reached down to grab one of her hands again. She didn't pull away, but she didn't grab back either. "You were totally right when you warned me how protective she was." Jaune tried to laugh again, confident that her big sister being very Yang-ish would make Ruby laugh but was surprised to see all mirth absent from her eyes. He stopped and regarded her with concern. "Is something wrong Ruby?"

"Uhh yeah actually, umm kind of." Ruby stopped again and looked back at the students training in the field for a moment and then back to Jaune, "Well, it's just a little thing. Kind of a big thing I guess." Ruby stopped again and gave Jaune's hand a squeeze, finally holding it back. She took a deep breath, raised her eyes to meet his directly and exhaled. "I'm not really… I don't like kissing in front of everyone like that." she finally blurted out in a tumult of words.

Jaune stopped breathing for half a moment when she said she didn't like kissing but caught himself when she qualified the emotion.

"Oh, yeah, I get that." he said half-heartedly.

"No really though Jaune." Ruby dropped her school supplies and scooped up his other hand, "It's not that I don't like you enough, or that I'm embarrassed about being with you, or that I don't like kissing you." A blush rushed to her cheeks and she looked back at the ground but kept a firm grip on both of his hands. "I really do like kissing. It's nice." she mumbled out.

"It's okay Ruby. I get it." Jaune nodded his head and she raised her eyes back to his, blush still firmly in place. "I'll be better about that kind of stuff I promise."

"You're just the first boyfriend I've ever had. I'm still not really sure about all of this dating stuff. It all feels really weird to me a lot of the times. But I like you and I want to be dating." her silver eyes twinkled in the fading daylight and Jaune could feel himself melting. He had to hurry and get out of here or he wouldn't have any bones left to hold himself up. He'd just be a useless puddle of love sick hunter.

"You know you're my first girlfriend too Ruby," Jaune's smile faded a little when she appeared shocked, "I'm still really new at this too. So we just have to talk about stuff like this, because we're both learning still." Ruby's grin widened and Jaune felt a warm bubble in his chest, so pleased that he seemed to have said the right thing.

"Okay, well I really gotta go study and you have to go train." She looked down at the discarded bag of supplies, "I might have to go buy new pencils too." They both laughed. "I promise to talk about anything else that comes up okay?"

"Yeah I promise too." Jaune squeezed her hands. "Oh, actually, in that case. Pyrrha and I are training together again tonight. Uhh just the two of us. Did you want to be there? I know you have to study but the room is supposed to be one of the combat classes so there are like chairs and desks and stuff too right? You could study in there." Jaune felt very awkward with this whole situation. He didn't want to be distracted like the other night, but at the same time he didn't want Ruby to have any reason to be jealous of his partner.

"Actually we talked about it and Pyrrha and I are great Jaune. Really, it's totally okay. You guys are partners, just like me and Weiss. No problem." Ruby flashed a giant smile and Jaune was totally convinced. Also, he was reminded about the melting issue as he felt his knees go a little weak when her cheeks pushed her eyes shut in glee.

"That's so great!" Jaune exclaimed. He leaned down to kiss her goodbye but caught himself. He pulled back and looked around for any of their friends or other people. Ruby giggled and he felt her lips push up against his cheek in a light kiss.

"Thanks Jaune." Ruby whispered sweetly in his ear. "Now go train." Ruby released his hands, scooped up her bag and departed into the library with a wave, spinning on her heel as she went through the sliding glass doors.

Jaune again watched until the doors closed and her image was too obscured to warrant any further staring; then turned about and jogged back across most of the giant campus to where he and Pyrrha were going to meet outside the new training room.

That conversation with Ruby had actually gone really, really well. When he had seen her downtrodden face and she had started in all sad, Jaune was convinced he had messed up terribly, that he had pissed off Yang and she mentioned it to Ruby and that because of that she would be mad with him. But, Ruby was actually really cool about it. She just didn't want to be super gushy and kissing and stuff in front of their friends, probably mostly in front of Yang since that was her sister. Come to think of it, Ruby hadn't even mentioned that it made her uncomfortable until he told her about Yang stopping him. So it was definitely Yang that was making her uncomfortable so Jaune would just have to watch himself in front of her from now on. No problem.

Jaune reached the training room and was relieved to see that it was actually right next door to their morning class with Professor Goodwitch. That would make it really easy to remember where it was. Pyrrha was waiting patiently outside, decked out in her full combat gear and leaning down to stretch out her calves.

"Hey Pyrrha." Jaune called out as he approached, slowing his gait so he could talk as he walked.

"Hello again," Pyrrha smiled sweetly and pulled out of her stretch, "Are you ready to train?"

"Oh yeah, I'm ready to go." Jaune gave _Crocea Mors_ a pat on his hip to show just how ready he was. Unfortunately he tapped the shield's expansion button and it flew open while still attached to his hip. His blade went clattering to the floor, ringing loudly against the hollow hallways and the sudden shift in weight threw him off balance and he skidded into the wall with a heavy thump.

"Good, it appears you have a lot of work to do." Pyrrha laughed merrily and unlocked the door to the training room, leaving Jaune to collect himself and follow after her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - So, it feels very weird to only be publishing "Friends and Loved Ones" this week instead of Friends and "Clubbin' ". What did you think of this chapter? There was more internal monologue going on with Jaune here than we usually get from the characters. Also, I'm not extremely comfortable writing Jaune's perspective all the time so please let me know what you thought of this section. Thanks so much for reading everyone, next chapter is on Thursday.
> 
> Oh also, on a side note. I will be going to another convention (Comic Con International in San Diego this time, the big one). That will start on the 19th of July and carry through the 25th of July so the 17th will be the last post until the 26th. Sorry about that, but just like before I don't feel I can give my stories enough focus while I'm at the convention and so I'd rather just not post at all than have lower quality or not follow up on reviews and PMs and everything like that.
> 
> Hope to hear from you.
> 
> -Zach


	14. Toeing the Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune and Ruby go out on a double date with Ren and Nora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Ruby craned her neck off to one side to try and get a better look at her hair in the mirror. She had been sitting there, brushing it, fussing over it, trying to get it just right for her date with Jaune and his teammates today. She felt like things were a little strained with her and Jaune because of the talk they had and wanted to make today really special for them. She still really liked Jaune, definitely, but she had asked him to do her a favor by toning down his affection in public and so far, at lunch and in classes they had together he had done a really great job. They just held hands and hugged now. They still kissed goodnight when they were alone in the hallway at the end of the day and if they got spare moments away from everyone else they would definitely kiss some. But, she just didn't like doing that stuff in front of everyone else, Ren and Nora didn't so why should they?

"Relax Rubes, you two are already dating right? It's no big deal." Yang laughed from her spot on the edge of Blake's bed. She was all geared up in her workout clothes and Ruby figured she had a long day of weights and heavy bags set out in front of her, a very Yang way to spend an empty weekend..

"Yeah but I still wanna look okay Yang." Ruby pouted. She usually didn't care about her appearance this much, not like Yang or Coco, but she wanted to look nice to be out with Jaune and with Ren and Nora.

"You look wonderful Ruby. You really shouldn't fret so much." Blake said quietly from Yang's side. She was leaning back against her headboard and had decided to join Yang in watching their team leader get ready for her date, while Weiss was nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah, you're way too cute for him anyways. Just take a deep breath and calm down a little." Yang stood up and placed both hands on Ruby's shoulders, massaging with a tenderness surprising from her huge muscled fingers. Ruby just sighed and let out a huff of hair, blowing her precious hair all over her forehead.

"I don't know why I'm so worried. I just don't wanna mess it up." Ruby's chin fell to the table with another sigh as she slumped over and stared forlornly at herself in the mirror. "Are you sure you don't wanna come Blake? You could tell me if I was doing something wrong or if there was anything I wasn't doing that I should be or-" Ruby turned to her teammate, highs full of hope.

"Oh no Ruby. You two are going out with Ren and Nora. I couldn't intrude on that." Blake shook her head calmly. She had her legs folded up underneath her like she always did when she was reading, her amber eyes were shining just so in the morning sun and she had a warm smile that helped but Ruby at ease a little. Blake was always so calm about things like this, she didn't let herself get flustered or bothered.

"Besides sis, you'll have Nora and Ren there. You know you won't do anything too embarrassing with Nora around. Anything you manage to do I know she will be able to top no problem and Ren is cool, he'll step in if something happens." Yang leaned over and gave Ruby a quick hug. "So what are you waiting for, go all the way across the hall and get going."

"Oh no," Ruby sat up slowly with a smug smile, a little better now thanks to their support. "Jaune is gonna knock on the door and pick me up like it's a real date."

"But Ruby it is a real date." Blake laughed lightly but stopped when there was a heavy knocking on the door, far heavier than Jaune would have made. The three girls all looked over in surprise at the sound just in time to see their dorm room door swing inward fast enough to bang on the opposite wall and knock a few books off the shelf. Blake moaned softly.

"Ruuuby!" Nora called out, "It's date time!" Nora's eyes found the little brunette and she ran across the room to scoop her up. "We can't keep those boys waiting." Nora laughed and Ruby giggled as the older girl swung her up over her shoulder. Nora turned to Yang with a mock salute, standing at attention despite the little girl hanging over her shoulder.

"Yes Nora?" Yang asked with evident mirth in her voice.

"I promise to have her back early ma'am." Nora said in a voice like an Atlesian soldier reporting for roll call. Yang giggled and struck an attentive pose as well, returning Nora's sloppy salute.

"You see that you do." Yang called out in what she hoped sounded like Professor Goodwitch's voice.

"Hey are you ready to go yet?" Jaune called out from the door. "Sorry Nora beat me over here."

"Hi Jaune," Ruby grinned broadly from atop Nora's shoulder and did her best to wave.

"You two behave now." Yang levelled a finger at Nora and Ruby, "I don't want Ren and Jaune having to bail you out or fix some store you blow down."

"Awwww Yang, you are no fun." Nora stuck out her tongue, letting her mock salute and stance fall away.

"We'll be good Yang, I promise." Ruby called out over Nora's shoulder and kicked her feet happily as she couldn't do much else to turn towards her sister. Jaune made his way over from the door and grabbed Ruby around the waist, lifting her easily off Nora's shoulder.

"Alright, give me my girlfriend back." Jaune smiled as he eased her to the ground by his side. He leaned forward and gave her a warm hug but refrained from any further contact. Ruby grabbed his hand once they had separated and smiled.

"You remember what I said too Jaune." Yang leveled a serious glare at him.

"Oh I remember, trust me." he laughed nervously.

"We will be late for the airbus if we don't leave soon." Ren said calmly from the hallway, just outside the room.

"Man, I keep telling people. Ruby Rose is never late." Everyone laughed at Ruby's expense and she crossed her arms in indignation. "Well, I'll show you."

Ruby gripped Jaune's hand tightly and waved to everyone else in farewell.

"Oh no Ruby not again, please." Jaune moaned and Nora giggled.

Ruby let out a little whoop of joy as she darted out the open window of their dorm, fell the single story to the ground and rocketed off towards the landing platforms, followed by rose petals and Jaune's high pitched wails.

After a few moments of semblance aided flight across the campus Ruby skidded to a stop in front of the still empty landing pad.

"There, let's see them joke about it now." Ruby released Jaune and placed both hands on her hips in triumph. Jaune doubled over, panting for breath. Ruby slid over and lifted up his shoulders so they were eye to eye and gave him a brief, light kiss on the lips. "Thanks for that back there." Ruby had a fierce blush, "That's exactly what I meant." She smiled through her blush and pushed forward into a hug. She felt Jaune's arms wrap around her as well and her grin grew..

"Alright, break it up love birds." Nora yelled out in her overly loud, impossibly chipper voice. She was pulling Ren behind her at a much faster pace than the boy usually travelled but he seemed to be keeping up just fine, a content smile tugging gently at the edges of his mouth.

The airship arrived and they all filed quickly on along with the other waiting passengers. Once everyone was seated the doors hissed and the engines roared to life, carrying the students off towards Vale.

"Soo, what are we gonna do today?" Ruby looked expectantly between Jaune and Nora, assuming one of them had the plan.

"I thought you two planned the whole day?" Jaune looked at the girls in shock.

"What? No way. It's the boy's job to plan dates like this." Nora looked over at Ren with her biggest puppy dog eyes, "Right Renny?" Ruby blushed a little at Nora's use of the cute nickname. She and Jaune were not quite to that point yet of using pet names but she thought they were just adorable.

"You told me to prepare for a surprise. I assumed that meant you were handling today's plans." Ren said calmly and ran his thumb over Nora's in the hand he was holding.

"Yeah, duh, I wanted you to surprise us." Nora pursed her lips together.

"Ahh well, how about pizza then?" he offered calmly.

"That sounds good. What do you think Ruby?" Jaune leaned back, apparently happy now that they had at least some semblance of a plan.

"Of course. Pizza always sounds good." She smiled and gave Jaune's hand a little squeeze. The airship made a spectacularly loud set of groaning noises as they eased towards a landing, the powerful engines pushing back against the ground and the forces of gravity to slow their descent. They landed with a soft thud and the main door popped open, allowing a small staircase to descend and let them all out into the city.

"Forward! To Pizza!" Nora yelled and darted for the exit but was held fast by Ren's firm grip.

"Don't go barging through people Nora." Ren didn't seem to budge as she tugged and tugged towards the exit. "The pizza isn't going anywhere."

The four eventually made their way off the ship and down the street to a pizzeria she had never been to before but with a name Ruby was sure Yang would have absolutely loved, _The Valed Oven_. She couldn't help but snicker at the name as they approached. To reinforce the joke inside, they had a large black curtain hung around the back kitchen, effectively hiding the food preparations and giving their store its namesake, sort of.

"It smells so good in here." Ruby moaned in pleasure at the aroma of fresh baked breads and sizzling cheeses.

"It's our favorite pizza place," Nora announced loudly enough to draw several stares, and smiles from the workers.

"We do come here quite often. Even if the food isn't the best for us, it is very delicious." Ren smiled to Nora and stepped towards the counter to begin placing their order.

"Come on Ruby, let's find some seats." the blonde boy offered casually.

"Ooh, get some outside." Nora called after them as they began to roam the store in search of a table. Outside Jaune and Ruby came across a suitably large round table with an umbrella that would save them from the worst of the day's heat.

"Jaune they're so much fun." Ruby smiled over at her boyfriend as he seated himself next to her, "Are they like this all the time? Your dorm must be awesome."

"Yeah pretty much. Nora almost never shuts off, even when she sleeps she's mumbling and blabbering on about something." Jaune laughed and reached an arm around Ruby's shoulder which she happily snuggled into.

"This was a great idea. It's already so much fun." Ruby smiled and tucked her head against Jaune's shoulder.

"Nora's full of fun ideas. I think some of them might come from Ren too but she always offers them up." Jaune hugged her close to his chest.

"Pizzas up." Nora shouted and Ruby nearly jumped out of Jaune's arms in surprise.

"That fast?" Jaune asked in disbelief despite the fact that Nora was carrying two literally steaming hot pizzas towards their table.

"They use a dust fired oven here. It's really incredible." Ren seated himself and took one pizza from Nora and set it on the table between them. He then reached back up and grabbed the other pizza revealing a stack of paper plates in Nora's hand.

"You guys have this all figured out don't you?" Ruby had now recovered from her surprise and retreated to a slight distance from Jaune now that their friends were around. How in Remnant did this place cook pizzas so fast? That was just crazy they had gotten back to the table that quickly.

"Oh yeah, I told you, we come here all the time." Nora plopped down in her seat and quickly passed out the plates. Ren meanwhile separated the slices of pizza from one another and passed them out as well. The two pizzas matched and had all the bits you could ask for. Pepperoni, sausage, ham and even little bits of bacon were layered on top of and in between assorted veggies and peppers atop a sizzling mound of cheese. The gooey yellow deliciousness stretched between each slice as Ren pulled them from the main platters.

"Thanks so much guys." Ruby smiled across at the other couple, "This looks really good." The smell coming off the peis was intoxicating, grease and cheese and meat all mingling into a wonderfully mouth watering scent. Ruby licked her lips in anticipation of how good this must taste.

"Of course Ruby. It's nice to share it with someone else." Ren nodded over the table at her. Nora tried to respond but was already half way through her first piece of pizza and had a mouth too stuffed with doughy goodness to respond. Instead she just smiled at the little brunette and continued eating.

Ruby lifted her first piece with both hands, using one at the back and the other to support the front of the piece so all the toppings didn't just slide off onto her plate. Carefully she eased it forward and bit into the piping hot surface, feeling the myriad of flavors soak together in the grease the gushed into her mouth. It was so delicious she couldn't help but emit a loud, pleased hum.

"Oh wow, oh wow it's so good." She said as soon as she had swallowed enough to speak. She hungrily attacked it again, not wanting to wait any longer. She dove in, forgetting her initial care.

"It really is. Guys this is incredible. How come we never came here before? Like as a team." Jaune took another bite as he awaited an answer, too eager to get back to the food to hesitate at all.

"Well we like it as a date place." Nora wiped at her mouth with a napkin that Ren offered her. "It's special that way to us." Ren simply nodded and dug into his serving as well, smiling in happiness. He seemed to be enjoying the day as well, not just getting to go out with Nora to their favorite pizza place but getting to share it with his leader and Ruby.

"Oh then it's really cool of you to bring us here." Jaune leaned over and kissed Ruby on top of her head, "We'll keep it special that way too. Just for dates." Ruby blushed under his attentions. The idea of the pizzeria as a date place was really sweet and she wanted to keep it that way for Ren and Nora too.

"So what is Pyrrha doing today?" Ruby asked as she finished her first piece. Ren pulled another piece from the quickly dwindling pizza for her without being asked and slid it onto her plate.

"She actually said she was going to train with Blake. Didn't she mention anything?" Ren asked in honest confusion as he wiped his hands off a little.

"Huh, no not really." Ruby shook her head. "But I offered for Blake to come and she didn't want to. I guess because she and Pyrrha already had plans." Ruby shrugged her shoulders and smiled as she continued to mow through her pizza.

"Are we gonna do more team training together? I really wanna do it again." Nora's devious grin was back and Ruby was reminded of falling rubble and pink explosions.

"We actually talked about doing kind of like sparring matches instead. Especially since we have that big room to use now." Jaune straightened up a little as he took on the role of team leader for a moment.

"The four on four matches are so chaotic. It'll be good for all of us to get some one on one practice for a change." Ruby kicked her feet happily beneath her, she was just hoping for another chance to go up against Pyrrha with no distractions.

"Awww, okay. Only if I get to fight Yang though." Nora seemed put out at the idea of fighting in a classroom again instead of the big wide open.

"We'll all fight each other eventually, even our teammates and our partners." Ruby gave her a reassuring grin. "Even you and me again Nora." Ruby saw the flicker of recognition go across Nora's face, recalling a certain clash in the forest that hadn't ended well for the redhead.

"Ooh, another shot for revenge." Nora thrust both fists in the air, "I accept your challenge Ruby Rose." They both giggled furiously and the boys both sighed in unison.

"I know you're strong and all Nora. But Ruby here can take you again. No problem." Jaune leaned over and gave her a slightly greasy peck on the cheek.

"Aww Jaune," Ruby said in slight frustration and wiped at her pizza stained cheek with a napkin. Nora laughed and went to give Ren a similar kiss on the cheek but he caught her shoulder to stop her gently. She resigned to just kissing the air in front of him and they both gave each other a brief smile.

"What about Yang?" Nora asked as she pulled back from Ren, "Up to anything fun?"

"I don't think so. Her and Weiss said they were both just staying around school today. Yang'll probably go to the gym and Weiss is just studying again, she was already in the library when we left," Ruby moaned. "I get that she has perfect grades, but seriously she's always studying, even more than Blake reads and at least reading is fun."

"For how crazy you four are, RWBY's weekends are kinda boring huh?" Nora asked quite innocently. Ruby could tell she meant it as a joke and an observation, not that she actually thought they were boring.

"Yeah but don't tell Weiss. She'll give you a lecture on just how much fun she is." Ruby doubled over in laughter at her own joke. She pulled up, clutching her stomach to try and calm the chuckles and wiped a tear of mirth from her eye. She had definitely been laughing the hardest, but that wasn't really unusual for her. Jaune leaned forward and kissed her, laughing into her lips and pulled away, still shaking. That took Ruby by surprise.

"Oh Weiss," Jaune moaned out between laughs, "That's exactly what she'd do." Ruby stopped at the kiss, her laughter cutting off suddenly but Jaune barrelled forward. He sat up perfectly straight and held one finger out in front of him, lifted his chin and tried to impersonate Weiss's voice, badly. "Now listen here, I am very fun to be around. Studying is just important to me. Someone like you simply wouldn't understand." Jaune's imitation broke and he buckled in laughter again. Ruby chuckled a little nervously and then returned slowly to eating her pizza. There were a few moments as Jaune and Nora finished laughing at Weiss's lack of fun hobbies and then a silence spread over the group.

This was exactly the kind of reason that Ruby wanted to avoided kissing in front of everyone like that. Before, when he had kissed her on the head that was okay, it didn't mess with what she was doing or make a big scene that interrupted the conversation like this. Then he had kissed her on the cheek when she was in the middle of joking with Nora. Now this one had really thrown the whole conversation of track. She just wanted them to be able to hang out with their friends together like always but together, as a couple.

"So, Ruby." Ren started in his calm, even voice, "Was there anything else you wanted to do today? Since we don't really have a plan." Ruby looked up from where she had been intently staring at the end of her pizza as she nibbled on it and met Ren's eye.

"Uhhh, well. Not really." She set the pizza down and put a finger to her cheek in thought, then pulled it away in shock and wiped at her cheek with a napkin. "Oh," she dropped the napkin, "There's a new Tales of Remnant movie. It's like they come out with one every month or something. This one is about a huntress who had to save a community in the mountains because Death Stalkers were burrowing under their village. It started freaking the people out and that made more come and it just got worse and worse until she came to stop them."

"No way!" Nora knocked her plate to the ground as she gripped the table excitedly, "That sounds soo cool."

"Yeah it's awesome. When she got to the village she-" Ruby snapped her mouth shut, "Mhmmm no, I don't wanna spoil it. But last time Jaune and I went they gave us a discount for being Hunters. It was really cool. They said it was something the studio was doing so they probably will for this movie too and then we can still get snacks and everything."

"Oh Ren can we go? Please, please please." Nora clutched at his sleeve with both hands.

"I suppose so. It does sound like an entertaining movie." He turned to Ruby, "Is there a showtime soon?"

"Ahhh lemme check." Ruby ripped her scroll out of her pocket and feverishly found her way to the theater's showtimes.

"The last one we saw was really awesome. If this one is that good, you guys will love it." Jaune said happily and put his arm around Ruby's shoulder, giving her a light kiss on the head as she worked the scroll.

"Oh there's one in like a half hour. Totally enough time for us to walk over there." Ruby looked over at the other couple. "I mean, that's plenty of time for me." she stuck out her tongue, "I don't know about you though."

"Oh you are on Ruby." Nora stood suddenly from her spot, "Come on Ren. We're going." Nora grabbed Ren's hand and the boy did not protest. She got all the way to the gate out of the restaurant's dining area before she stopped and turned back to Ruby and Jaune. "Wait, what theater are we going to?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Hey, thanks so much for reading and for all the comments on Jaune's character last chapter. I got one review last chapter that really hit the point of this whole section on the head. The wonderful Cara Lea got it just right, thank you for reading so closely. Hopefully this chapter does a good job of forwarding that idea and making it more evident as things begin to escalate.
> 
> I will have a double feature this weekend as usual, before my trip to Comic Con in San Diego. While I'm there I won't be posting, but I will pick up again on Tuesday the 26th which is right when I return. I hope you all can weather the wait while I'm gone. I really am going to try and get some one-shots up, maybe some of the great ideas I've gotten from all of you. I'm not sure yet. If I can really buckle down over the weekend and chunk some things out then I will try to spread those over the break.
> 
> Anywho, thanks so much for reading. I hope you're liking the story so far and that it's keeping your interest pretty well. Please let me know what you think as you read along, I absolutely love hearing from people as they move through my stuff.
> 
> -Zach


	15. Zen and the Art of Nora Taming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The four friends exited the movie theater and made their way down the hallway towards the lobby. Ruby and Nora were giggling excitedly and rambling off scene after scene of the movie they had just watched together. Ren was fairly confident that he could merely listen to them babble on and he would have the entire plot of the movie explained even if he hadn't also just seen it.

"And then when there was that cave in!" Nora waved both of her hands around in the air emphatically and made a crashing noise. Ren allowed his lips to creep upward just slightly into a grin. Nora's energy and excitement were barely containable in her little frame, but when she and Ruby were able to spend time together it was like they grew and grew to a fever pitch of excitement that rolled through and past everything in its way. Ren rarely saw her this happy and able to express herself this openly and was incredibly happy that Ruby seemed just as excited by their friendship as Nora did.

"Wow, I guess they really liked it huh?" Jaune asked from Ren's side. Ren turned to appraise the blonde, his leader, his friend, Ruby's boyfriend and the man that Ren's other teammate, Pyrrha, pined after daily despite his ongoing relationship with the bubbly brunette.

"It would appear they did, yes." Ren replied evenly. What was Jaune trying to get at? Was he just making small talk while the girls chatted or was he trying to ease into some larger topic? Ren knew that Jaune was not the most comfortable discussing things. He would usually beat around the bush, fidgeting his way through several meaningless sentences at a time before coming near what he wanted to say and then, usually with a small amount of prodding, Jaune could pose whatever question or request he was trying to lead up to. So, Ren would give him simple replies until he mustered the courage to speak his mind.

There was a moment or two of silence between the boys as they were drowned in the never ending retelling of the film from their girlfriends who were still jumping about, reenacting a particular fight between the Huntress from the film and a Deathstalker, Ruby playing the Huntress and Nora doing an admirable job of impersonating a ferocious Deathstalker, one hand held high and behind her as a mock stinger.

"She really is fun to be around," Jaune said, gesturing with a slight tilt of his head towards Nora as she cornered Ruby by a trashcan and began hissing at her. "Ruby was just saying how happy she is to get to spend more time with her." They were maybe getting a little closer to what Juane actually wanted to talk about now. Ren was surprised, he was moving faster than usual towards his topic. Perhaps something was truly troubling him.

"I know Nora enjoys her company just as much." Ren turned his small smile towards his team leader, closed his eyes and tilted his head just barely off to one side to emphasize his sincerity. Jaune returned his smile but said nothing more so Ren resumed watching the two girls as they all made their way towards the theatre's exit. They didn't have any further plans for the date, not that had any to begin with, but Ren was perfectly content to let the girls keep doing as they were now. If Nora was happy then he was happy.

"Ahhhh," Ruby screamed as she ran past Nora in a mad dash. Nora played right along with the events of the film and snapped after her, never quite catching her billowing cloak. Ruby turned back and faced Nora down, two bendy straws clutched in her hands like pistols and made exaggerated gun noises. Nora flopped back as the 'bullets' hit her and she fell to the ground with a groan. In a flash of rose petals Ruby was atop a nearby bench, one foot on the backrest with her cloak billowed out behind her. She planted her fists on her hips and beamed out at the lobby proudly. They both then dissolved into giggles and came back together, chatting excitedly about how great the special effects were.

"Hey Ren?" Jaune began hesitantly and Ren knew he had reached his tipping point.

"Yes Jaune? Did you have an idea of what to do next?" Ren stopped walking and allowed Jaune to focus on what he was trying to say.

"Huh, oh no I didn't. Should I?" Jaune's slightly relaxed stance completely dissolved as he panicked. "I didn't think of anything I didn't know we were gonna keep doing things. Aww man I am the worst."

"That's alright Jaune. What was on your mind." Ren spoke in a purposefully quiet and even tone to calm Jaune. Now the idea of his actual question wouldn't seem nearly as daunting when compared to admitting he had no idea what to do for a date. Ren had found that Jaune's anxieties were easily overwhelmed with other topics and it could make it easier for him to talk about things.

"Oh, uhh, yeah. Right." Jaune took a deep breath and refocused himself, "When you and Nora started uhh, dating." Jaune still sounded uncomfortable confronting the fact that they were dating.

Ren and Nora both had agreed for a long time to keep their social lives and their dating lives very separate. When they were with friends they would act just like any two other friends, albeit very close ones, but they would completely abstain from shows of affection and other such actions as that just wasn't the setting for them. This meant that for quite a while after joing team JNPR, Pyrrha and Jaune were unaware they were a couple. When they were alone however, or when they went out for the express purpose of being on a date like today, they could slip easily into being as loving and openly affectionate as any other couple. It was a set-up that they both appreciated and that they had come to mutually. Ren believed that their friends must appreciate it as well, not being constantly exposed to the couple's affections.

"Was it weird at all? Like, you two were friends before and then you were more than that. Was that ever awkward?" Jaune put his hands in his pockets quite forcefully, attempting to present himself as calm and collected but achieving quite the opposite. Ren contemplated his question for a moment, letting out a low thoughtful hum to let Jaune know that he had heard him and was processing the information. What was Jaune really asking here? He clearly was not trying to learn more about Ren and Nora's relationship but just relationships in general. Jaune must see them as a very successful couple and want to emulate their success with Ruby and so had come to him for advice. But, what specifically was he trying to get at here?

"Our relationship did not have a start in the way you mean." Ren said slowly, carefully measuring out his words to judge Jaune's response. Jaune stood quietly, ready to take in more information and so Ren decided to continue. "We were friends and then we were dating. We never asked each other out or made a show of it. Our relationship just reached that point on its own." Ren finished and looked over to Nora who was holding Ruby around the waist and spinning her in a circle, laughing and making faces.

"Oh, I guess you didn't really have our problem then." Jaune sounded a little despondent and Ren became worried. It sounded as if he and Ruby were having some sort of serious problem and they hadn't even been dating that long. Sometimes relationships started out rocky and worked themselves out, but other times if they got bad this quickly it was best to get out before anyone got attached enough to be really hurt. Ren couldn't help but wonder and worry which one this was.

"What problem are you having?" Ren asked quietly, not wanting Ruby to overhear, although he really doubted that she could hear over her and Nora's overly loud squealing.

"Well, I feel like she doesn't want to show that she likes me," Jaune turned away and looked out across the theatre lobby quietly and Ren waited for him to come back and continue. If he was going to get this off his chest he had to do it on his own, Ren's questioning would only lead him astray as he had no idea what was truly troubling Jaune yet. "She asked me to not kiss her and stuff around other people." Jaune turned completely back to Ren and he could see sadness in Jaune's usually happy blue eyes.

"Did you make any request in return? Or tell her how you felt about it?" Ren cocked his head off to one side, feeling his single loose strand of hair drift across his forehead, the bright pink strip flitting through his vision for a moment.

"What? You mean like start an argument? No I just said yeah, that I'd try really hard not to." he seemed agitated at the thought of disagreeing with her. If Jaune was truly that smitten, that he didn't want to disagree with Ruby in any way, then their relationship would definitely have trouble. It had to be a two way street on things, one side could not make all the decisions.

"That's a conversation you two need to have." Ren gave Jaune a warm, reassuring smile before a loud crash pulled ther attention back to Ruby and Nora. The two girls had toppled a trashcan over and were hurriedly trying to stuff everything back into it, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Now come on, in order to keep their promise to Yang we should reign them in." Ren gestured over at the two girls and Jaune sighed.

"They've got us good don't they?" Jaune seemed to have eased some and had a note of amusement to his voice.

"Definitely, they both have us pretty well caught." Both boys laughed and made their way over to help the girls pick up the garbage and upright the trashcan.

"Oh wow, thanks guys. Thanks Jaune." Ruby leaned into Jaune's side and hugged him with one arm, letting her hand fall down into his between them. That was a good sign, at least she wasn't completely against any outward signs of affection.

"So, I heard it's my idea to come up with an idea of something for us to do. I mean if you guys still wanna." Jaune looked around at the group, but there was no protest, "Well, I thought maybe we could go take a walk on the beach together. Just to talk and stuff." Jaune smiled expectantly and Ren felt Nora squeeze his hand in anticipation.

"Ohhh I love the beach." Nora squeaked out excitedly.

"That sounds really nice Jaune." Ruby's voice was high and sweet and Ren could see that she really liked the idea. He had a feeling that she was the quiet romantic type and would much rather do nice little things like this as opposed to big overblown gestures. That meant Jaune was at least on the right track. They would be okay.

"Alright cool, let's go." Jaune waved towards the doors and they all headed off towards the nearest airship landing pad. It was already evening when they emerged from the theater and the street lights had just started to flicker to life.

The airship carried them up and over the tops of downtown's skyscrapers, permitting a generous view of the city spread out beneath them. A single river cut down from Beacon and split the city neatly in two. On the South side was the industrial district and apparently more than a few nightclubs that Yang liked to frequent if Nora's story of their time out clubbin' together were anything to go by. The North side held the shopping district, all the offices of businesses located in Vale and throughout the kingdom as well as most of the residences. The ship was carrying them up to the North East to a stretch of beach near some of the more expensive homes in Vale. The sand there was kept very clean, the sidewalks were nice and wide and there plenty of benches and tables along the way so they could stop and admire the ocean if they felt the need. It would be a nice way for the two couples to wrap up a really pleasant day together.

The ship eased down near the water, blowing sand off its concrete landing pad as it eased itself down. Jaune impressively seemed to have controlled his stomach for the entire trip, despite his usual motion sickness. Ren wasn't sure if it was because Ruby was there and he was struggling to put on a good face or if Jaune was truly getting his troubles with flight. Either way, if he could ride without getting sick it would be an improvement for everyone involved.

"Weee!" Ruby dashed out into the sand and spun around in a little circle. "Those things get so stuffy," Nora ran after her and they both collapsed onto a bench with a sigh.

"The moon is very pretty tonight." Ren looked up, as he exited the airship, at the broken moon above. Some of the largest shards were visible tonight as it entered its waning phase, slowly drifting about in a circle every night until they would be able to see its shattered surface completely. Then it would just keep spinning until there was once again a seamless circle of white floating overhead as if nothing had ever happened. Ren liked the broken parts. It showed that even though it had been through a great ordeal of some kind, the moon could keep moving forward.

"Oh wow it is." Ruby flopped her head backwards onto the table and it looked to Ren like the angle her neck was at should be very uncomfortable. Nora mirrored the movement so she too could gaze at the moon.

"Renny? Do you know what broke it?" She looked down from the moon over at him. Ren thought for a moment. Why was the moon broken? He thought and thought but he just couldn't recall. Had he ever known what happened or was it just something he accepted?

"I don't know Nora." Ren looked at her, his face completely neutral.

"We should ask Weiss. I bet she knows." Ruby chimed without looking down from the sky, "Weiss knows like everything." Ren made his way over to Nora's side and sat with her, gently taking her hand in his and scooting next to her. They both tilted their heads back and continued to gaze up at the peaceful night sky.

"Oh yeah, well does she know why you're so adorable?" Jaune swooped down on Ruby and placed a light kiss on her upturned forehead. Ruby gasped slightly, but audibly and Ren cringed internally. Apparently she was very opposed to Jaune's more intimate displays of affection. He should definitely try and respect her wishes until they had their talk. But it was past Ren's time to say anything. He and Jaune had had their talk and it was up to his leader now to do as he would.

"So, you guys wanna walk now?" Ruby jumped up from her seat and trotted quickly over to the sidewalk on her own.

"Yeah sure," Jaune stepped over to her side and swept her hand up, "I mean unless you two wanna have some time to yourselves." he quickly offered to the couple that was still seated.

"Nah, we can walk with you." Nora leapt up from her seat with serenity breaking speed and offered a hand out to Ren, "Right Ren?"

"Of course we can." Ren accepted her hand and stood slowly, easing himself to her side, "Please, lead the way." Ren gestured down the path and Ruby and Jaune set off at an easy pace. Ren started at the same pace, so the two couples could walk together, but separately. It seemed, however, taht Nora had other plans as she forged ahead, intent on coming up beside the other two.

"So Ruby," Nora started up as soon as the two couples were side by side once more, "Have you ever played Water Chicken Grimm?"

"That's not a game Nora." Ren said plainly. He didn't think that right now was really the time for more of Nora's antics. He understood that she really enjoyed goofing around with Ruby but this was supposed to be a date for both couples and right now it would appear that Jaune and Ruby needed this quiet romantic time.

"Well yeah of course it is Ren." Nora turned on him with a face that he just couldn't refuse. So perfectly sincere and genuine. "I just made it up." She stuck her tongue out at him and went trotting off towards the water's edge. Ruby followed and Nora began explaining the rules to the game as they went. "So one person is the Grimm and the other person is the chicken and the chicken has to run away, but…" Her voice faded to the point that Ren could tune it out as the two girls got closer and closer to the water.

"I am sorry about that," Ren turned to Jaune and apologized, "Like I said. She is very excited to have Ruby as a friend and they don't spend a lot of time together like this. I know that Water Chicken Grimm is probably not the way you saw this night ending."

"Are you kidding? That playful, crazy side of Ruby is like, my favorite thing about her." Jaune smiled wide and honest and Ren felt a little more at ease, "I do kinda mind not being able to join in though." He said with a little more sadness in his voice and watched the two girls run at each other. Ruby chasing Nora and desperately trying to force her towards the water without getting wet herself.

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you did." Ren offered, "And I would be more than happy to sit by and watch. If Nora is having that much fun then I am perfectly content."

"Are you sure Ren? You won't feel left out? I know playing in the sand isn't exactly your thing." Jaune stepped forward and placed his hand on Ren's shoulder, requesting his complete honesty. Jaune and Ruby needed some together time right now, definitely more than Ruby and Nora needed. Plus Ren was perfectly happy to see Nora playing and enjoying herself. They had gotten to go get pizza today and even see a very faithfully recreated hunter movie. It had been a great day.

"I'm absolutely sure," Ren nodded his head in confirmation.

"Alright man, if you're positive." Jaune gave Ren's shoulder a light squeeze and then jogged off towards the two girls, trying to get enough of a bead on their actions to insert himself into the game.

Ruby made a close swipe at Nora's legs as she dove at the redhead but missed her ankles by just a few inches and Nora went laughing off down the sand.

"You're gonna have to be faster than that." Nora stuck her tongue out and Ruby attempted to brush the sand off of herself and her cloak, "I thought you were a fierce Beowulf? You look more like a baby Creeper." Nora turned and smacked her rear end tauntingly, "No way you'll catch me." Ruby shook her head, sending sand in every direction around her and leveled a competitive glare that all but proved she was at least half Yang's sister. There was a flash of red and rose petals went flying in every direction as Ruby launched herself at Nora, semblance in full swing. The redhead released a tiny eep as Ruby slammed into her and tackled her to the sand with a giggle. She pinned her arms at her sides with her hands and sat right on Nora's stomach, completely immobilizing her.

"Was that fast enough?" Ruby asked with a smirk. She held Nora's hand down towards the water and a light wave lapped up against her fingers, just barely getting her wet.

"Aww man you even remembered the rule." Nora whined, "Okay, okay. I've gotta be the Grimm now." Ruby started to lever herself off of Nora and prepare to run like the chicken she was playing but Jaune leapt at her and tackled her playfully to the ground beside Nora. Ruby let out a surprised yell as she fell to the sand.

"Ahh ha, the brave huntsman is here to slay the Grimm and save the chicken." Jaune stated heroically from atop Ruby. He then leaned down quickly and placed a quick but firm kiss on her lips.

"You know I'm the Grimm now right Jaune?" Nora asked jokingly from his side. He turned towards her with a smile and she waved both hands in front of her defensively, "Ahh don't tackle me and kiss me though." Nora rolled backwards to her feet and fled towards the relative safety of Ren.

"Jaune can you get off me now?" Ruby asked from the sand. Jaune looked down and saw that he was still crushing her against the beach.

"Oh yeah, sorry Ruby." Jaune leapt off her in a hurry and extended a hand down to her to help his girlfriend up. She stood without his assistance and dusted herself off again.

"I'm kinda tired now. Do you wanna head back to Beacon?" Ruby turned her hood inside out behind her and a significant amount of sand fell to the ground.

"Yeah, uhh sure." Jaune reached out for her hand. Ruby shook her hood once more and then looked down at his hand. She took it lightly, grabbing his entire palm and not twining her fingers through his before setting off for Nora and Ren.

"Ohh Ren. Remind me to write down the rules when we get back. That game is super fun. I think it needs a better name though." Nora turned with a start at Jaune and Ruby's approach. "Oh hey guys. Finish slaying the Grimm Jaune?" Nora asked suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows in a very Yang like manner at the couple.

"We're actually gonna head back to Beacon guys. Sorry. I'm just kinda tired all of a sudden." Ruby spoke up before Jaune could respond to Nora's joke.

"Oh okay. You wanna head back too Renny?" Nora turned back to her boyfriend.

"Actually, if you wouldn't mind," Ren looked to Jaune and Ruby, "I think I would like to walk the beach just a little longer with Nora." Nora smiled wide and cuddled up into Ren's arm, hugging it with both of hers.

"That's totally fine." Ruby smiled at both of them, "Sorry we have to bail."

"Yeah, I'll see you guys back at the dorm?" Jaune asked, speaking for the first time since they had decided to head home for the night.

"Of course Jaune. We won't be out very late." Ren bowed his head forward slightly in appreciation of Jaune's concern.

"Have fun you two." Ruby smiled brightly again and turned quite suddenly back towards the airship landing pad, dragging Jaune along with her.

"Get home safe guys." Nora waved after them happily but turned to Ren once the other couple was a reasonable distance away. "Are they okay? That was really weird? You don't think Ruby got hurt do you?"

"No, but I think that will be a very long ride back to Beacon."

* * *

 

After a perfectly normal airship ride that seemed to stretch on for hours they pulled in at the main Beacon landing pad and disembarked. Ruby had remained mostly silent the entire ride back, telling Jaune that she just felt really tired as an excuse anytime he tried to strike up a conversation. Ruby stood as the ship eased itself down, wanting to make her way back to the dorms as quickly as possible. She put one hand against the wall to steady herself and headed for the exit before the ship had come to a stop, reaching the doors just after they hissed open. Jaune followed right after her, stumbling slightly in the still moving ship.

They disembarked and Ruby turned suddenly when Jaune coughed. He was holding one hand over his mouth and stumbling towards a trashcan.

"Oh Jaune. Are you okay?" Ruby dashed over to his side and put a hand on his back as he vomited into the waste bin.

"Ugghh," he coughed again and wiped at his mouth, "I think I'm okay." He then immediately disproved himself by vomiting again, doubled over from the effort.

"You had been doing so much better with it lately." Ruby ran little circles on his back to ease his clenched muscles a little.

"It really helps having something to distract me during the ride," he turned up from the can and tried to smile to her but had to twist violently back to the trashcan as another wave of bile surfaced in his throat.

"I'm sorry Jaune. I didn't even think of that on the way back. Do you want me to get you anything? I could run for a water or something." Ruby began to step away, letting her aura pool in her feet to carry her off to the nearest vending machine.

"No, no it's okay." Jaune reached out behind himself and caught her wrist, "Let's just go back to the dorms. I'm better now, I promise." He pulled himself upright and stood as tall as his clenched stomach would allow. Ruby looked at him uncertainly and eased her hand around so she could clutch his, winding her fingers between his softly.

"If you're sure, yeah let's go." Ruby said as sweetly as she could manage. Jaune smiled happily despite his haggard state and they started off towards the dorms. The walk back was full of a shared silence, this one much more companionable than the forced silence during the airship ride. It was simply that neither of them had much to say at this point. Jaune was certainly still feeling the effects of not only his sickness but also Ruby's sour mood. Ruby was so disgusted with herself for getting so caught up in her own frustration that she forgot Jaune's motion sickness that she was unable to talk.

They reached their shared hallway and turned to face each other has they had done perhaps a dozen times now.

"I had a really good time tonight Ruby. Sorry I had to get sick at the end." Jaune squeezed her hands in his.

"Yeah, it was a fun day." Ruby felt herself smiling. She had really had enjoyed going out with all of them, "We have to go back to that pizza place again. For another date." Jaune's smile doubled in size at her suggestion.

"Definitely. Maybe see if they make one with pineapple or something." Jaune stepped forward and slipped his hands around her waist. Ruby let her hands drift up and rest on his arms. It was still a little strange for her that she couldn't reach his shoulders when they stood this way.

"I'm gonna just head to bed though." she shook her head and let loose a little shower of sand, "Maybe a shower first." They both laughed and fell back into an easier silence than before. Jaune stared into her eyes and Ruby could see he really wanted to kiss her.

"Uhh, that's kinda gross Jaune." she tried to sound sweet despite her words.

"What?" his eyes flew open in shock, "What did I do?"

"Nothing! Just uhh I don't really wanna kiss you because you just threw up." she scrunched up her face in disgust, "Sorry." she really hoped that he didn't take it the wrong way. It was just so gross to even think about kissing him right after he threw up everywhere. His eyes fell and Ruby realized she had to do something. She perked up on her tiptoes, just barely bumping against his chest and kissed his cheek, lingering for a long moment against the soft skin of his face. She could feel just a little bit of untrimmed stubble beneath her lips and she thought about what Jaune might look like with more of a beard.

Jaune pulled her closer to him and hummed in delight. He totally understood her not wanting to kiss his vomit filled mouth. But she had still given him a goodnight kiss, and even one of her adorable tiptoe kisses. What more could he ask from her after everything else that had happened tonight.

"Goodnight Ruby," he said quietly without letting her back down.

"Goodnight Jaune," she snuggled into his shoulder, letting herself down off her toes until her cheek was against his muscular chest. She pulled him tight as well and they just stood for a moment before separating. "I really have to shower or I'm gonna chafe in weird places." Ruby scrunched up her face in discomfort this time and stepped back towards her door.

"Alright Ruby, sleep well." Jaune leaned back against his door and watched her head into her room.

Ruby slipped into her dorm room quickly and sighed as soon as the door was shut. Tonight had been such a crazy whirlwind, highs and lows and wrestling with Nora. She was still trying to wrap her head around exactly what had happened at the beach, why she had gotten so mad so suddenly. A shower would definitely help clear her head and she really did have sand in very uncomfortable places.

"Hey Rubes you feeling okay?" Yang voice startled Ruby and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Oh hey Yang. Yeah I'm just really tired." Ruby pushed her arms up above her head and forced a yawn to prove her point and headed for the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Alright." Yang returned to her textbook with a shrug.

"Oh hey Ruby. Sorry let me grab my things real quick. I didn't think you'd be home this early." Weiss jumped up from her bed and dashed into the bathroom, retrieving her assorted shampoos and soaps from the shelves of the shower stall. "There you go, all yours." She emerged with a smile and gestured regally into the bathroom for Ruby to enter.

Ruby nodded to Weiss with a sleepy smile and stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. She quickly stripped her dirty clothes off, dropping them into the hamper and laying her cloak carefully on a towel rack so she could wash it separately later. She stepped into the shower and turned the water on nice and warm. The pipes hissed quietly and a spray of lukewarm water splashed against her skin. The easy pressure and gentle warmth helped to sooth her tensed shoulders and rinse the sand out of every place she didn't want it to be. How had it even gotten there?

She grabbed a shower loofah and put just a little bit of body wash on it. She wasn't going to stay in long but the feeling of the loofah against her skin would help to relax her. She stroked it carefully across her shoulders and around her neck, pushing the tension out along each arm and off her fingertips until she felt a little more like Ruby. She rinsed the soap off, checked to make sure there was no sand still clinging to her skin and shut off the water.

Ruby emerged into the dorm, all dried off and dressed in pajama pants emblazoned with tiny corgis and a light pink top. She walked over to Weiss's bed to pet her very own Corgi lightly on the head. He was curled up at Weiss's side, snoring softly while the heiress studied.

"So are you gonna tell us what's wrong now?" Weiss turned to Ruby without closing her book and leveled an all too knowing gaze at her.

"What?" No really. Nothing's wrong." Ruby stood up quickly.

"Then where's your giant, post-date with Jaune smile?" Yang swung her legs over the side of her bunk to face her sister. Ruby could tell that these two had a plan and she was cornered.

"Come on Ruby. We know you better than that." Weiss closed her book with a rather solid thump and pulled Zwei into her lap. The little dog put up absolutely zero resistance and snuggled happily into the blankets on top of her legs. Ruby dropped her head in defeat and fell to a seat where Zwei had just been.

"It's just…" she trailed off and looked across to Blake's empty bunk, then up at Yang. Yang jumped down off her bed and plopped down at the end of Weiss's bed to be closer to her little sister. "I talked to Jaune about the whole kissing me in front of everyone thing. He seemed like he got what I meant and he said he would try to be better about it. But today, I don't know, maybe it was because we were out on a double date. He was kissing me all day, right in front of Ren and Nora." She sounded tired, not from playing all day, but emotionally drained from the stress.

"I mean you were on a date right Rubes? Weren't Ren and Nora kissing too?" Yang kicked her legs up in front of her, crossed her arms on her knees and dropped her chin to rest on the little platform she had created.

"No they didn't. Not even once." Ruby was exasperated, "That's how I wanna be when we're with friends. It was like we could still just hang out, but they were still really lovey dovey with each other. Always like holding doors open for each other, or helping each other with stuff and finishing each other's thoughts.

"You and Jaune haven't been dating that long though. I'm sure you'll get like that eventually." Weiss lifted her hand from the dog and stroked Ruby's shoulder instead.

"But he was so weird today," their fearless leader moaned, "He would kiss me in the middle of a joke or while Nora and I were playing or just randomly while we were talking about something." Ruby huffed and dropped her face into her hands.

"Did you say anything to him?" Yang sat back up, her face suddenly much more serious, "If you don't want him doing stuff like that you've gotta say something."

"I told you he would be like this." Weiss lifted her chin indignantly but left her hand comfortingly on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby turned to her with a quizzical look and Weiss stumbled slightly in her speech, "Well I mean, maybe not exactly. But I did say he was an idiot didn't I?"

"I think it's cute when he's silly though," Ruby twisted around to face Weiss better, "I just feel like he wants to hold me and kiss and stuff way more than he should."

"Well he is a boy. Isn't that how it works?" Weiss shrugged her shoulders uncertainly.

"If you're uncomfortable with it then it isn't okay Ruby." Yang dropped her knees and leaned forward to Ruby, putting both hands on her shoulders and turning her back so they were face to face. Yang had her big sister face on now and Ruby could tell she was really serious about what she was saying.

"What if I bring it up again though and he breaks up with me? Like what if that's what he wants and I say no and he just doesn't want to be with me anymore?" Ruby stared deep into Yang's violet eyes, pleading that her older sister had the answers she was looking for hidden away.

"Then you shouldn't be with him. You're so much more than that Ruby." Weiss pulled Ruby's attention away.

"For once, the Princess is right." Yang nodded her head and eased back from Ruby, "You're way better than that sis'."

"Excuse me? For once?" Weiss crossed her arms indignantly again and shot Yang a dirty glare.

"Yes Ice Queen, for once." Yang turned on her, a small fire kindling behind her eyes.

"Guys, guys, c'mon. Please not now." Ruby stretched her arms out and put a hand on each of their shoulders. They both eased back a little at her touch.

"Sorry," Weiss let her tense shoulders droop back down.

"I'm gonna go think." Ruby stood from the bed, "I need to walk a little and clear my head."

"Alright, we'll keep the door open for you." Yang stood as well and gave her sister a firm hug. She was warm like always, never too hot, just like a nice blanket at the end of a hard day. Ruby could have just stayed right there and fallen to sleep standing in her sister's embrace. But she had things she had to figure out.

"Thanks," Ruby hugged Yang back, "You too Weiss." She pulled away from her sister and leaned down to hug Weiss as well. Zwei stood and nuzzled Ruby's arm affectionately, "Awww you too Zwei."

"Oh fantastic, I'm on par with the dog now." Weiss joked but then looked down at said dog, "Who am I kidding, of course I am. He's just soo cute." She pulled him away from Ruby and cuddled Zwei tight against her chest.

"I don't know if you'll still be up when I get back, so sleep well." Ruby stepped back and smiled at both of them before exiting into the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Wow, that was a long one. Had to get some things done though. What do you think now? Thoughts? Ideas? Predictions?
> 
> I wanted to answer Guest Toolazytologin mostly because your guest user name makes me giggle. Yeah I'm headed to San Diego next week. Thank you so much for the well wishes. I will try to enjoy the chaos of Comic Con as much as I can.
> 
> Just a reminder regarding that. Tomorrow's chapter will be the last one until after my break. I will resume posting on Tuesday the 26th. Ironically just the day before the RWBY Volume 2 Theater showings. Anyone else going to that? I'll be there so if you're at the Tyler Galleria at the AMC near Riverside, CA try and find me. The trick is you have no idea what I look like...A fanfiction writer lost in a sea of RWBY fans.
> 
> I hope you're all enjoying it and getting as much fun out of these recent developments as I am. Thanks so much for reading. Let me know what you think please.
> 
> -Zach


	16. A Little Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune and Ruby talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Ruby leaned back against the wall and sighed quietly to herself. The hallway was pleasantly cool after spending all day out and about with her friends and Jaune. She closed her eyes slowly and raised her hands to rub gently at her temples. A quiet yawn made its way out and she felt some of the day's tension seep out along with it. Ruby's heavy lids fluttered back open and she lifted her eyes to stare out the window. The moon was high above the school now, hanging nearly motionless as it drifted weightlessly across the vast blackness that encompassed Remnant. Ruby stared up at the huge, unknown expanse and wondered for a moment, what else was out there? What was up there among the stars? She heard a cough and turned her head off to the side just to see a fellow classmate, a member of team Apricot making their way to their dorm for the evening. Ruby raised a hand above her head to wave and they waved back with a kind smile.

She let her head fall against the wall and her silver eyes drifted to the window, just as her thoughts drifted to what had happened today. It had started really well, going out with Jaune and Ren and Nora. They had a lot of fun, talking on the airship on the way down and then going out for pizza together. That place was really good and it was so sweet of Ren and Nora to share their favorite little spot with them. Jaune had been doing great too, he was funny, he hadn't gotten sick on the airship, he had kind of tried to come pick her up. It wasn't Jaune's fault that Nora was way too excited and had nearly kicked in RWBY's door to come get her for their date.

But then Jaune had started doing less and less okay as the day went on. In the dorm room he had made a specific point of not kissing her, or grabbing her waist or anything like that. They had hugged hello and held hands but that was all and that was exactly what Ruby wanted. She didn't want to be constantly touching each other in front of their friends. A big part of it was that she didn't want to be that way in front of Pyrrha. That's the way it had started at least. Ruby didn't want to make a huge show of her and Jaune's relationship in front of Pyrrha because she knew how she felt about Jaune. Ruby understood that Jaune had picked her and that was that, but, it was no reason to flaunt it in front of one of her friends.

Then as they got further into their relationship Ruby thought about it and realized that it shouldn't just apply to Pyrrha. She thought about how weird she felt when they lived on Patch and Yang would have one of her boyfriends or girlfriends over and they would kiss. It was never weird to Ruby that Yang had girlfriends, a lot of them were actually really cute, she didn't really care about that. She didn't care about the boyfriends either, they were never exactly Ruby's type so she never thought they were cute or anything. But, whenever Yang kissed any of them in the house, or when they would snuggle on the couch, Yang practically in their laps or them in hers. That was what made Ruby feel uncomfortable.

It was just so strange being around two people who were so physical with each other and it never failed to make Ruby extremely nervous and like she didn't belong in the same room. Even if they were all watching a movie or TV together, if Yang got like that, Ruby would always excuse herself and leave. So, when she and Jaune had started kissing and holding each other closer, Ruby decided that she never wanted any of her friends to feel like that. She was really close to everyone and didn't want anyone to ever feel that uncomfortable, it just wasn't nice.

She thought at first that with how shy Jaune was about everything, he had asked to kiss her, he had even asked if it was okay to hold her hand. She had thought that meant he was unsure enough about the whole thing that he would be less affectionate in front of their friends. She thought he was shy like she was about it and they wouldn't even have to talk about it. But, it seemed like it was exactly the opposite. It seemed like in front of their friends that Jaune was even more affectionate than when they were alone. It was sweet that he wanted to express how much he liked her but couldn't he do it with something other than kisses and hugs? It just felt like that was all he knew how to do and that wasn't what Ruby wanted from a relationship.

When Jaune had taken her to that little noodle shack, A Simple Wok, that had been great. Expressing little parts of yourself to the other person or doing considerate things like surprises or little meaningful gifts, even simple stuff like opening doors and pulling out chairs. Those were the kinds of things that Ruby wanted Jaune to do for her. The whole point of him picking her up this morning had been so that he could make that little gesture to start their date, coming over, telling her she looked nice and then them going out together. That was how Ruby had envisioned the morning going. It wasn't Jaune's fault Nora had run over and swept Ruby over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. But, he didn't even say she looked cute and she had worked so hard to try and look nice for him. She didn't care how she looked usually but she wanted him to notice the effort she had put in at least.

Ruby sighed and stood from her seat on the floor. She rested both of her hands on the windowsill and let her head drop against the glass with a gentle thunk. The glass was cold and focusing on that let her stop her thoughts from rambling in circles. She took a deep, unsteady breath and decided that walking a few more laps of the dorm rooms would probably help her focus a little better. The glass felt so good against her skin though that she wanted to stay there for just a few more moments.

She felt a light grasp at her hips, familiar fingers sliding gently around her waist. The sudden contact made her jump and despite the casual touch and the confidence behind the motion she whipped her head around to see who it was. She was met by the closed eyes and broad smile of the object of her rambling thoughts. Jaune pushed his hands the rest of the way around her slim waist and pulled Ruby against him. He was wearing his sweatpants and a light hoodie but still felt warm even through the layers of fabric.

"Hey Ruby. I thought you were going to bed?" Jaune's voice was sweet, not reproachful in any way.

"Yeah, I needed to walk a little though. You know, to clear my head." Ruby let her hands fall against his on her hips, "Are you feeling better?"

"I am now yeah," Jaune snuggled his head into the crook of her neck.

"No I meant from the airship." Ruby blushed slightly at his meaning, did her presence really affect him like that?

"Oh," he chuckled, "Yeah I am, thanks. Did you get all the sand out?" Jaune pulled his head back and opened his eyes to take her in.

"Yeah I did, it felt nice to take a shower." Ruby turned and pulled out of his arms, putting her back against the cool glass. She grabbed his hands as she turned and pulled them down between them, holding each in her own.

"That's good. I took one too." Jaune smiled at her and gave both hands a gentle squeeze. There was a comfortable moment of silence as they just stood and held each other's hands under the gentle moonlight and low buzz of the hallway's own lighting.

"What brought you out here this late? Did Ren and Nora come back and want the room or something?" It sounded a little embarrassing to ask that, but they had been a couple for a long time, It wouldn't surprise Ruby if they were at that point. She looked up at Jaune's crystal clear eyes and realized there was absolutely zero dishonesty there, his stare was completely affectionate and genuine.

"No. My dorm was actually empty and I was kinda bored. I guess I was just wandering around." Jaune chuckled quietly, "Why? Was something bothering you? Were Weiss and Yang arguing again?" He stepped towards her and dropped her hands, moving his own back to her sides.

"No. I'm just trying to unwind a little really." Ruby tensed a little as he pressed her against the wall with his presence. He wasn't really pushing on her, just standing extremely close with nowhere for her to back up. She sidestepped and reached her hand back out, offering it to him. "I was gonna start walking again actually. Wanna come with me?" Jaune reached out and took her hand.

"Yeah of course I do." Together they began pacing the hallway, slowly stepping down the quiet corridors, hand in hand. They made a full half lap, reaching the corner opposite where they had started before Jaune spoke again. "What were you thinking about?"

"Hmmm?" Ruby was pulled out of her quiet trance by his voice. As they had started walking her mind had gone just a little blank. Being with Jaune like this and trying to process what had happened throughout the day at the same time was a little hard. "Just today really. Our date and everything."

"I really did have a lot of fun with you." Jaune turned on her with that same bright smile he seemed to wear around her all the time. "I mean Ren and Nora too, but mostly you." He pulled on her hand just slightly as they walked and then released it and slung his entire arm over her shoulder. Ruby let herself fall into his torso and he hugged her small frame against him.

"Yeah, I had a good time today too." Ruby said quietly. She kept pulling away from him little by little and he just kept bringing her back in. It's not like he was forcing her to stick close to him, and she hadn't really said anything about not wanting him to. But still, it seemed like every time she moved away he would grab her back to himself again.

They completed their lap and came back to the window where they had started.

"Do you have stars like this at home?" Ruby came up to the windowsill again and moved away from Jaune to rest her hands on the smooth wood.

"Not really, no." Jaune leaned against the wall next to her and cast a sidelong glance out at the sky. Then he looked down the hallway one direction, then back the way had come. "Hey Ruby, you know there isn't anyone else around right now, right?" He said rather quietly, subdued almost.

Ruby took a half step away from the window and turned to face Jaune. She looked up and down the hallway as well, not really wanting to confirm what he was saying but more to give herself a moment to think. He was right, there wasn't anyone else around and that was the whole thing with her not wanting to express affection. Still, it just didn't feel the same as it had before. Maybe she was just tired.

"Yeah, there's not." Ruby extended her hands forward, open. Jaune stepped forward into her arms and wrapped his own around her shoulders. He leaned down towards Ruby and kissed her gently on the lips. Ruby closed her eyes and felt his lips brush against hers, soft and warm. After just a brief moment of contact he pulled back.

"Are you okay?" His eyes were open again.

"Uhh, no. Not really." Ruby let her shoulders droop and looked down at her feet. She was so embarrassed that she didn't even really want to kiss him right now. "I think I might just be tired."

"Are you sure?" Jaune was almost pleading with her. He obviously knew that something was wrong now. "You've been like this since we were at the beach earlier. If something's up I wanna help you with it." He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead but Ruby turned off to the side and he stopped.

"That's what's wrong Jaune. You just keep kissing me and holding me and I don't know, it doesn't feel like it did and I'm trying to figure out what's going on but it's so hard." Ruby closed her eyes to try and hold her emotions back, she really wished she had worn her cloak out here with her so she could clutch at it and throw the hood up over her head to help her think.

"What? Ruby I had no idea." Jaune stopped, apparently uncertain of how to really continue. "I know you said the other day that you didn't want to kiss in front of Yang but I thought-" Jaune stopped when Ruby turned on him.

"What? That's not what I said." Ruby clenched her hands at her sides, "I said I didn't want to kiss or anything like that in front of any of our friends." Jaune's shoulders dropped and he looked at the floor.

"I know…. But I guess I thought…." He failed to finish his thought. He just stared at the piece of carpet between his feet. "I thought you were just embarrassed in front of your sister."

"No Jaune. That's not…" Ruby thought about it for a second and realized that as soon as Yang wasn't around is when he had started holding her and kissing her again. But that isn't what she had asked him and Yang was probably the one she was the most comfortable around because Yang had done it so much around her. "But that isn't what I asked Jaune."

"I know but it's just that I like you so much and I want you to know that. I try to tell you, but I don't know what to say." Jaune shuffled his feet. "And you're always so cute, I guess I can't help myself."

She's too cute to not kiss? Ruby was befuddled by what he was saying. What did he mean he couldn't help himself?

"I told you though Jaune. I told you it made me uncomfortable to kiss in front of everyone and you still did it. You did it a lot today with Ren and Nora. They didn't kiss. Not even once the whole time we all hung out. Why do you have to kiss me in front of everyone?" Ruby could feel herself getting upset now and she was really trying to keep her voice quiet. Lots of other people were already probably sleeping and she didn't want anyone overhearing her and Jaune having an argument like this.

"I just, I can't really believe that I got a girl like you Ruby." Jaune finally looked back up to her, "I just want to them to see that you're mine." His eyes were shining now, not with tears but with the passion in what he was saying.

"Yours? Jaune I'm not yours and you aren't mine. We're dating." Ruby threw her arms out to her sides and she felt her voice raise. How could he say that? His? And what did he mean, a girl like her?

"No I didn't mean-" His eyes flew open in exasperation, "I only meant that… We're dating and so I want people to know."

"To know what Jaune? That they can't have me?" Ruby turned around. She couldn't be upset with him and look at those eyes at the same time. "Are you worried I'm gonna run off with someone else?"

"Of course not… I just…" Jaune touched Ruby's shoulder, asking her to turn back around but she took another step away.

"Stop it Jaune." She had just asked him not to touch her all the time and that was the first thing he did. "I just. I came out here to think and I can't do that with you here."

There were a few moments of silence. Ruby stared down the hallway angrily, arms crossed against her chest. Jaune didn't say anything, didn't move from where he was standing.

"Ruby. I don't know why you're so mad at me. I thought you liked kissing me?" Jaune's voice was low, he sounded defeated and Ruby felt her heart pang.

"It's not that I don't like kissing you." she admitted, "I just. I don't want anyone to feel weird or uncomfortable because we're together." She turned back to him and saw that he was crying softly. No huge bucking sobs or shaking shoulders. Just light tears running down his cheeks. "I'm mad because I asked you not to and you kept doing it."

"Why would they feel weird though? We're together. We're gonna kiss. We're gonna hug and hold hands. That's the way it's supposed to be right?" Jaune shrugged his shoulders and let them drop again.

"And? That doesn't mean we can make them all feel weird the whole time we're together. They're all still my friends too Jaune. And they're still your friends. Just because we're dating doesn't mean it should change how we are with everyone else." Ruby wanted to run forward and hug him. She wanted to wipe the tears off his cheeks and tell him they could figure it out some other time. But, she had to make her point. Yang was right, this was a talk they needed to have and if this is what had to happen to get her point across then it's what had to happen.

"But we are different now. We're not just Jaune and Ruby right? We're _Jaune and Ruby_ now." The emphasis he put on their names the second time said everything. He thought that now that they were together they should be different around their friends. But Ruby didn't want things to change like that. She still wanted to read with Blake and tease Weiss and play with Nora.

"I don't want to be though." Ruby could feel tears in her eyes now, "Like today when we were with Nora at the beach and we were playing that silly game. You came over and totally interrupted it. If you were just playing around too that would be fine but you weren't Jaune. You tackled me and kissed me and Nora ran away."

"I just wanted to play with you too though. You and Nora had been having so much fun. I was-" Jaune stopped and looked up, at the ceiling, trying to blink some of his tears back. "I guess I was jealous a little."

"You were jealous of Nora? Of Nora, Jaune?" Ruby's tears fell as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Yeah. I don't know. I was, I guess." he stuffed his hands in his pockets and dropped his eyes back to her. "We were supposed to be on a date right? But you were running around with her and I was over talking to Ren."

"We were out with Ren and Nora though." Ruby sighed and dropped her hands. She felt like she was talking in circles. "It wasn't just you and me. We were hanging out with our friends. Don't you get what I'm saying?"

"But Ruby..?" Jaune took a step towards her and she took a step back, "Ruby I get what you're saying but what about what I'm saying?"

"What are you saying Jaune?" Ruby crossed her arms again. If he said he wanted everyone to know they were dating again she was gonna explode.

"I'm saying that I want to kiss you in front of them. I want to hold you on the beach and I want to be with you all the time." Jaune took another step forward and outstretched his arms, but Ruby continued to backpedal.

"I can't Jaune." Ruby gripped her own elbows and squeezed them together. "I can't do that." She felt her tears well back up and start flowing down her cheeks. Ruby dashed one arm against her face to keep them back. "We want really different things Jaune."

"But don't we want each other?" Jaune dropped his hands and Ruby put both of her palms to her eyes, trying to force the tears to stop.

"I thought I did. But now, I don't know if I do anymore." Ruby couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't stand here, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the hallway and argue with him anymore. "I can't do this anymore." She turned and ran the last few steps back to her dorm room door. Threw it open, pulled herself inside and slammed the door.

Jaune couldn't believe what had just happened. One minute they were walking and talking like they had done before they started dating and then they were yelling at each other and crying and… What had she meant just now? She couldn't do this anymore? Jaune felt fresh, hot tears run down his cheeks and he stared after her, stared at the door she had slammed. He heard someone coming up the stairs, two people maybe but he didn't care. Their steps got louder and their laughter grew closer but he didn't move. He recognized their voices, the high ringing laugh, like a chorus of bells and the other, slightly deeper but with a definite feminine peel.

"Jaune? Jaune are you okay?" Pyrrha asked quietly. Both sets of laughter dying in their throats.

"What happened?" They both came up to his sides and rested a hand on either shoulder. He tried to respond but he couldn't make his jaw move and so they stood there. Waiting for him to react to their questions. It took a concentrated effort but he freed his tongue from whatever had been holding it down.

"I…" even once he started talking he still had trouble vocalizing his thoughts, "I think Ruby and I just broke up." he turned and collapsed onto Pyrrha's shoulder, throwing both arms around her shoulders and letting himself sob finally. His shoulders heaved and he felt her hand patting his back, trying to comfort him. He didn't raise his head but he heard Blake dash off down the hallway and the door to Ruby's room open and shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Uhhhhh...Okay don't hate me now. I mean, I didn't put any ships in the summary for a reason. This is a very fluid fic and it's definitely not gonna go like they usually do. People are more complicated than rooftop confessions and blushing in the closet right? I think so.
> 
> I hope this came across pretty believably. Please tell me what you thought of the chapter. I've never even read a chapter like this before so I'm really in totally unknown territory here, blazing forward with my pen held high...or keyboard I guess?
> 
> Also, uhhh, this is the last chapter until I get back from my vacation. I promise I didn't plan that.
> 
> Okay yeah I did. I wanted to build a little bit of suspense with a for realsies cliff hanger.
> 
> Well there it is. All out there for you to tear up. I really hope I don't get any hate mail written in letters cut out of a magazine. That would be weird and also take a long time.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading. I'll be back with the next bit on Tuesday the 26th.
> 
> -Zach


	17. Like Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Jaune and Ruby broke up? There's no way that could have happened. They were always so happy together and Ruby was trying so hard at her first relationship. How in Remnant could they have broken up? By the looks of Jaune, Ruby had done the breaking too and that just didn't make sense to Blake. She darted down the hallway and tore open the door as quickly as she could, her mind thrown into high gear to try and figure out what could have happened.

As soon as she was inside, Blake threw the door shut behind her. Ruby was sitting on the edge of Weiss's bunk with her head in her hands, sobbing. The heiress was at her side, rubbing smooth little circles on her back to try and ease her down off of her emotional high. Yang was sitting on Ruby's other side, holding Ruby's hand and murmuring something to her about how it was gonna be okay. Blake cleared the gap between the door and the bedside in a single, long stride and was at Ruby's feet. She knelt down in front of her team leader and attempted to gauge her emotions. She thought Ruby had dumped Jaune, but if that was the case why did she look so heart broken? Blake tried to look up at her, to see her eyes, see her face, to get some judge of how hard she had been crying, how long. Ruby's dark, red tipped hair fell loosely around her face and hid any hints from Blake.

Blake reached out to Ruby and set her hands on the younger girl's knees, Ruby jumped at the touch, hiccuped a little in her sobbing and looked up slowly to meet Blake's gaze. She shook her head and got some of her hair out of her face, though most still clung to her tear stained cheeks. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen from her rubbing at them, her face was smudged from wiping tears away and she just looked like an absolute mess. The usual light behind her eyes seemed muted and distant, smothered by sadness and noticeable fatigue.

"Ruby…?" Blake wanted to ask if she was okay but realized the answer to that was obvious. She wanted to hold her and console her but she didn't even know what had happened. She looked back and forth between Yang and Weiss, hoping for some sort of help, but Yang kept focused on her sister and Weiss gave Blake a very confused shrug.

"Hey Blake." Ruby's voice was weak and squeaky, strained by her emotions. "Did you have fun with Pyrrha?" That broke Blake's concentration and nearly toppled her over. How could Ruby be as distraught as she was right now and still be concerned about her and how her day had been? Blake gave Ruby a soft smile, so touched by her concern. Ruby really was infallibly considerate, always trying to put other before herself.

"That's not what matters right now," Blake rubbed her palm back and forth across Ruby's knee gently, trying to massage the sorrow out of her. "You are."

"Rubes…" Yang's voice was soft and caring, more so than Blake had heard it before, "What happened?" Ruby pulled her knees up under her chin and out of Blake's grasp, she folded her arms and dropped her face down where none of them could see it anymore.. Maybe asking Blake about her day had just been an attempt to distract herself from the all too evident reality. It was clear that whatever had happened between Ruby and Jaune out there was really getting to her. Blake wasn't sure she had any kind of grasp on what had happened despite what she had gathered from Jaune

"It's just Jaune…." Ruby voice was muffled by her hands and legs but they all heard perfectly well what they already knew.

"Oh Ruby, I'm so sorry." Weiss's voice was warmer than usual, the care she put into her words surprised Blake. "I told you he was no good though didn't I?" Weiss's hand never stopped running its soothing circles across Ruby's back.

"What happened?" Yang asked much more sternly than before, some of the maternal care being replaced with a strong protective overtone.

"We got into a fight." Ruby lifted her eyes to Yang, "I told him exactly what I meant about kissing in front of everyone else and…" Ruby trailed off uncertainly and began to waver in her resolve. Blake wanted to squeeze her reassuringly but she had pulled away, Blake was left painfully distant from her and felt like she was completely unable to help console her in any way. She had her sister and her partner with her. What could Blake do for her?

"He was still out there when Pyrrha and I came back." Blake said softly, "He was crying too." Ruby rubbed at her face with her bare arm and turned to look at Blake, letting her knees slouch just a little so she could see Blake's caring amber eyes.

"I just.. I wanted him to understand that it feels weird and I didn't want anyone else to feel weird. But he started freaking out and I didn't know what to do about it." Ruby sniffled hard and looked back at Yang, "You told me I had to tell him so I did. But I never thought we would argue about it like that. I thought he would understand."

"See, boys are just useless." Weiss's voice had regained that icy superiority Blake was so accustomed to, "They really aren't worth the hassle at all."

"What do you mean he started freaking out?" Yang completely ignored the heiress and kept her attention focused completely on her sister. Weiss seemed to notice that the tone was not lightening anytime soon and sobered up her attitude with a shake of her shoulders.

"When I went out there to think… I-I was actually starting to figure it out. But, then he came out with me and I couldn't think with him there." "She stopped to rub at her nose with her arm and Blake reached over behind Yang and grabbed a tissue off of the bookshelf for her. She handed it to Ruby without a word. Ruby accepted the tissue and wiped at her nose. She tried to eek out a smile for Blake but didn't manage to really look pleased at all. "It was like with him around I just couldn't do anything. I felt really confused and my head was all fuzzy." Ruby was looking intently at Yang, trying to explain it all to her, the emotions she had been feeling, what had actually happened. Blake sat and listened, she just needed to be here for Ruby right now. "Then, he kind of asked if we could kiss and stuff I guess. I mean, he mentioned that no one else was around and he sounded sad. I had been kinda pushing him away when he tried to get close. Maybe he could tell I felt weird about it and he was worried. I don't know. But, we kissed and he just pulled away because I didn't really kiss back, I just kind of stood there and let him kiss me." Blake glanced over at Yang as Ruby spoke and could see her tension building, slowly rising up inside her despite a visible effort to maintain her calm. And then it broke.

"Oh that is it." Yang dropped Ruby's hands and stood suddenly, "I have been putting up with that boy because he was making you happy, but no." Yang clenched her fists at her sides and stared so intensely at the door that Blake was almost certain it would spontaneously burst into flames. "I warned him that if he ever made you cry." Yang gritted her teeth in anger, unable to vocalize her intentions through the haze of fury filling her mind "I'm gonna kill him. I'm really gonna kill him." She took a step past Blake, towards the door but Ruby reached out and grabbed her wrist, halting her.

"No Yang stop." Ruby nearly shouted, her voice pleading with Yang. "Don't do anything." Yang turned back on Ruby and Blake could see that her eyes had gone red, she was obviously boiling inside. Torn between staying with her little sister and tearing the boy across the hall to pieces. "Yang he's still my boyfriend."

Blake felt a physical shock go through her chest and it was hard to breathe for a moment. Ruby's eyes were so sincere and Yang seemed to relax a little. Blake kept her eyes focused on Ruby. Still her boyfriend? Hadn't they just broken up? Blake was so confused. Not just by what had actually happened but by what she wanted.

One part of her wanted nothing more than for Ruby to be happy. She just wanted to see her smile and hear her laugh and Jaune had been making that happen. Jaune had made Ruby happy. But another part of her, a dark, jealous part had been horribly happy when she heard that Ruby and Jaune had broken up. That meant Ruby would go back to spending her time in the room with them, Ruby would be able to read with her more often and want to go do silly things together. Blake hated that she felt that way, but of course she wanted to spend more time with her.

Wasn't Ruby's happiness more important though? Shouldn't she want her to be happy more than herself if she really cared about her the way she had convinced herself she did? Should she tell her what Jaune had said? Would that help the situation at all? Jaune had only said he thought that they had broken up. Maybe if Ruby came to him in the morning they could still fix things? But maybe, maybe Ruby hadn't realized that Jaune had broken up with her and if she went back to him it would blow up in her face. Jaune could fumble about and be really unclear and Ruby was so new to doing anything like dating. It's possible there had been some sort of horrible misunderstanding between them.

"Ruby? You're still dating?" Blake said softly, and at first Ruby didn't react. She was still focused on her sister. After just a moment, Ruby dropped Yang's arm and looked at Blake in startled confusion.

"What? Uhhhh….Yeah." She sounded uncertain and shook her head to try and clear her thoughts, "We just had a fight. I said I couldn't stand there and argue with him in the middle of the night like that and ran in here." Ruby sniffled and wiped at her nose with the tissue again, even though it was balled up in her fist. Blake felt the heat coming off of Yang ease behind her as her thoughts undoubtedly shifted from her anger at Jaune to deeper concern for Ruby.

"That's ummm…" Blake trailed off, still uncertain as to what she should say. But, Ruby deserved to have all the information. Honesty was always correct right? If Blake decided to hide something from her, that might be because of how she felt. But telling her the truth could never be wrong, could it? "That's not what he said." Blake slid her hands up and grasped both of Ruby's small calloused palms between her hands. She applied a gentle pressure to show Ruby she was sincere and how much she cared. She wanted to make sure Ruby understood what she was saying.

"What?" Fresh tears welled up in Ruby's eyes.

"He thinks you dumped him." No sooner had the words left Blake's mouth then Ruby's momentary composure shattered, fresh tears running down her cheeks. Her shoulders weren't bucking and she wasn't sobbing, she was just staring at Blake in disbelief, tears streaming unchecked along her cheeks.

"No." Ruby sounded broken, "No that's not what I said." No one said anything. Yang moved back to her spot at Ruby's side and pulled her into a side hug, Ruby just kept staring forward in disbelief.

They all sat there for a few minutes, letting Ruby soak in the information and waiting for her to react. Blake still wasn't sure if that had been the right thing to do. Watching the pain on Ruby's face as she spoke had hurt Blake so much. Ruby stared absently at the ground, trying to process it all, her tears dried after a few moments. It looked like she was too shocked by it to even cry. Finally Yang spoke up.

"Maybe it's for the best though." Yang's eyes were a deep amethyst again and she was resting her head on top of Ruby's. "I mean, if this is how he is…" Yang trailed off, not wanting to say anything overtly negative about their friend just because he and Ruby had this happen, but also wanting to express her dislike for how he had treated Ruby.

"I thought, I thought he would be like me." Ruby finally spoke. "I thought he would get it."

"He's just an immature little boy Ruby." Weiss said plainly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But, if we broke up. Does that mean we aren't gonna be friends with them anymore? With Team JNPR?" Ruby looked around at her team. "Did I mess everything up?" Her voice started to break as her confidence collapsed in on itself.

"No Ruby, no." Blake wanted to lunge forward and hug Ruby and tell her she hadn't done anything wrong. She wanted to pull her down and stroke her hair until she fell asleep and have her wake up happy in the morning like none of this had ever happened. But she stopped herself. She couldn't do any of those things for her. "No you didn't."

"I'm sure they will be better than all that." Weiss's voice lost a bit of its edge. "Besides. I can't imagine anything keeping Nora away from you. Apparently not even a locked door can." Weiss tried desperatley to chuckle at her joke but it appeared Ruby still wasn't easing down. Yang shot Weiss a sympathetic smile over Ruby's head and then squeezed her sister's shoulders again.

"I think you need sleep now sis." Yang ran her index finger along each of Ruby's temples, pulling the tear dampened strands of hair off her cheeks and tucking them back behind her ears. Ruby nodded her head limply and lifted herself up from the bed.

"I'm gonna wash my face first." Ruby said as she made her way to the bathroom. Blake stood with her and took a step back so she could escape. They all watched until the door closed and then a let out a mutual sigh.

"Do you think they're actually done?" Weiss asked quietly, not wanting Ruby to overhear. Blake waited before responding. She heard the water start up in the sink before she began speaking quietly.

"Jaune seemed to think so. He just looked broken. It seemed like she let him down pretty hard. I figured they were done for sure until she said they were still dating." Blake glanced at the floor, embarrassed that she had let her mind jump around so much. She felt like if she met either of the other girl's eyes they would know how she felt and what she really wanted. She already hated that part of herself, how would they feel if they knew? They obviously cared about Ruby more than they did about her so she couldn't let them know. They were her sister and her partner after all, of course they wanted Ruby to be happy over everything else. They would probably try to set Jaune straight and get the two back together. Blake could be okay with that, really. She had been okay with them dating as long as it made Ruby happy so if they figured it out and Ruby was happy again then that would be okay.

"They better be done." Yang crossed her arms and spoke much louder than the other two, apparently not caring if Ruby heard exactly how she felt on the matter. Blake's head snapped up to meet Yang's determined eyes. Apparently Yang really was holding a grudge against Jaune for treating Ruby poorly. She was the overprotective type, hopefully that didn't come back to hurt Ruby.

"What if she's right though? What if that does push us and team JNPR apart?" Weiss sounded saddened by the prospect, but then seemed to catch herself. "Not that I enjoy spending time with them so much that I couldn't go without it. They're nice and all but, they're also very loud." Blake smiled to herself, she knew Weiss would feel the absence if they didn't see the other team as much. As indifferent as she tried to appear, she loved their little social group as it was more friends than she had ever truly had before. Blake would definitely feel bad if this caused a rift between the two teams. JNPR was really great and they had to live across the hall from them. But, Ren and Nora, even Pyrrha. They were bigger than that right? It might be a little weird for a while, things would be strained between their leaders but they could figure it out.

"I'm sure that part will be okay. They may be a little strange around each other. But they didn't date for very long. I think they can repair their friendship." Blake nodded her head gently, hoping to ease Weiss's anxieties a little. The door from the bathroom opened again and Ruby emerged, her face was clean now but she did not look truly refreshed.

"I'm really tired," she admitted as she came out. She stifled a long yawn with the back of her hand. Usually when she yawned she would smile and stretch her arms above her head, giggling a little as she leapt up to her top bunk. But now, she just looked exhausted, she dropped her hands to her sides and slowly moved towards her bunk.

"You should sleep. You and Jaune were both tired tonight. I'm sure that in the morning you can talk about it with clearer heads and figure the whole thing out." Blake gave Ruby a small smile, hoping to cheer her at least a little. Going to bed sad was a terrible thing to do.

"Sleeping will help you think too." Yang walked over and wrapped Ruby up in another hug. Ruby hugged back and her shoulders seemed to ease down a little. "You have to decide what makes you the happiest Ruby, what makes you feel most comfortable." They held each other for just another moment before Ruby pulled away.

"I'm not being dumb am I?" Ruby looked at her teammates, her sister.

"No Ruby." Blake responded immediately.

"Of course not. If anyone is being dumb, it's that idiot boy." Weiss held her usual derision for Jaune wide out in the open.

"Never." Yang put her hand back on Ruby's shoulder.

"Thank you guys." Ruby looked at each one of them and held their eyes for a moment. "I love you."

Blake couldn't stop herself anymore. She rushed forward and gave Ruby a hug as well. She felt another set of arms wrap around them and realized Yang had joined in as well. Weiss audibly sighed and then slowly slid her arms around Ruby.

"We love you too. Now are we ever going to go to sleep?" Weiss tried to hide how touched she was but they all knew better. Blake realized then just how close they had all gotten. She had never really been the hugging type before. She preferred to sit back and deal with her own problems on her own and let others do the same, but here, with them. This felt right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - So this chapter is a little shorter. But the conversation isn't over. It's just late and they needed to sleep. It's one of those pieces where I either put a chapter break here or posted behemoth of a chapter. I decided splitting it would be better in this case.
> 
> I got a lot of responses on both sides of last chapter. Some people thought I did really well with Jaune and others seemed to really hate what I did. I also got one quest review that I obviously couldn't respond to, so please, whoever that was, treat this note as a response to your review.
> 
> At the start of the show Jaune wasn't as loveable as he is now. He was constantly chasing after Weiss, quite desperately, didn't do any of the helping people over himself stuff and abandoned his team to suck up to Cardin during the blackmail thing. Then with the dance and the Forever Fall forest scenes his character really changed and developed into the Jaune we know and recognize now. I wanted him to go through that same change but for different reasons here. I think you'll see as the story progresses that his interaction with Ruby will really change his outlook and he will realize what happened. In the canon of the show Jaune is an incredibly dynamic character and not treating him as such here would fail to do the show justice.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading everyone, and for weathering the break I had to take for attending Comic Con. I wish I could say it was a super relaxing vacation and I'm back feeling refreshed and relaxed. But, honestly, at this point. Getting back to work and the daily grind will be more relaxing than that all was. Also, now I can respond to reviews again, thank people for following and maybe get some work done on my new stuff.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Jaune and Pyrrha's talk will be on Thursday.
> 
> -Zach


	18. Conflicted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Blake, understandably, vanished behind the door to Team RWBY's dorm room. Pyrrha didn't even flinch at the loud slamming of the door, she was so focused on the tears running down Jaune's face. She felt a pang of sadness at seeing him so distraught, but also a small amount of pity and then, jealousy. Crying wasn't something that Pyrrha Nikos did, but one of the few times she had cried, it had been because of Jaune. So now, to see him crying over Ruby, it made her realize just how strongly he must feel about her. She stood there for a second and he didn't budge, he just stared after Blake, or more likely after Ruby, and cried mostly silently. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and reached out to touch his shoulder. He jumped at the contact as if he had forgotten she was standing there.

"Jaune…?" She started quietly, afraid that she would startle him again, afraid someone might overhear and come out to see what was going on, afraid of how he might react.

"I don't get it. I just wanted to show her how I felt. I wanted everyone to know how I felt." Jaune half mumbled, his lips barely moving as he spoke. He never even turned his head to face Pyrrha but still managed to nearly answer her unasked question.

"What did you do?" She sincerely hoped that Jaune had not attempted some sort of overblown show of affection. Ruby was a quirky, loud, spontaneous girl, but she was not the kind for over the top displays of personal matters. If he had tried something huge and overt it would no doubt have embarrassed her, but that wouldn't lead to a break up would it? Ruby was a better person than that.

"I kissed her… and we fought… then she left." Jaune's voice dropped with every utterance and Pyrrha could barely make out the last phrase over the low humming of the hallway lights.

"You fought? Over a kiss?" Pyrrha was certain there was more to the story than that. She was well aware that Jaune and Ruby had had their first kiss a long while ago now so kissing shouldn't be any huge deal. Jaune would certainly not have made some sort of obscene move on Ruby. And in the hallway of all places? No that wasn't a possibility. So what in Oum's name had happened out here? Jaune finally turned to face her and his eyes seemed empty, like he was staring through her, not at her.

"I lost her Pyrrha." Jaune's voice broke again and he collapsed back into Pyrrha's shoulder, sobbing once more. He turned into her and threw his arms around her shoulders and Pyrrha felt herself grab him back and pull him into her embrace. She lifted a hand and stroked the back of his head comfortingly, trying to sooth him if even slightly. How often had she wanted to be this close to him, definitely not under these circumstances. She had never envisioned their first embrace to involve him crying over another woman, but still, here they were. Suddenly the hallway felt very open and public, the harsh yellow lighting threatening to expose her inner thoughts.

"Here Jaune, let's go back to the dorm. You need to sit down." Pyrrha pulled just far enough away to smooth his hair and gesture towards their door. Jaune nodded his head and began to trudge towards the dorm room, one slow step at a time. He reached the door and hesitated with his hand on the latch. He cast a single longing glance over his shoulder at Team RWBY's door and started to turn. Pyrrha rested her hand on his over the knob to their room. She pressed her scroll to the lock and the door swung inward. "Come on Jaune." She gestured into their empty room and he turned away from the other, still closed door and towards his own bed.

Jaune moved in and sat himself silently on the edge of his mattress. He sighed and dropped his face heavily into his hands with his elbows propped up on his knees. Pyrrha stood silently and shut the door slowly behind her self. Once it had closed, the harsh buzzing glare of the fluorescent lights gave way to the gentle warm glow of their incandescent lamps. She took a deep steadying breath and closed her eyes to center her thoughts. Jaune needed her right now, he needed a guiding hand and a friend. She had to be there for him.

"Jaune, I don't know if you're comfortable speaking with me about it. But. If you want to talk-" Pyrrha started but was cut off as Jaune jumped right in. The comfort of his bed, and perhaps the privacy of their room seemed to have helped him recover slightly.

"Is it weird to want to kiss in front of people?" Jaune raised his tear stained eyes to Pyrrha's emerald ones.

"I…" Pyrrha didn't know how to answer that, "I've never kissed anyone Jaune. I wouldn't know." She just threw it out there. She trusted Jaune, they were partners. Why shouldn't he know just how little she had experienced.

"What?" Jaune recoiled in a muted shock, surprised even through his shroud of depression. "What do you mean you've never kissed anyone?"

"I mean I've never had any sort of romantic partner Jaune." Pyrrha looked at the ground, stained and darkened at the doorway from their boots tromping over it after hard days of training. She could feel his judgment boring into her. How could she not have had any romantic partners? Was she that great that she just turned everyone down? Did she see herself as so high and mighty that no one was worth her time? That's what everyone else thought.

"But…..?" Jaune seemed at a loss for words, "How could no one have ever asked you out?" Jaune stumbled over his own words as they poured out of his mouth.

"Jaune, you're getting distracted." Pyrrha desperately wanted to get the topic off of herself and needed to find out what had happened so she could help Jaune repair his relationship with Ruby. The longer they spent talking about her, the longer Jaune spent focused on her, the less she wanted to help Ruby. But she had to. Ruby had been so amazing for her since she and Jaune had started dating. She had made every effort to tone down their affections in front of her, she had even basically apologized to Pyrrha for dating Jaune. She needed to help her now. "What happened between you and Ruby?"

"She said that she didn't want to kiss me in front of other people." Jaune's head dropped again now that they were refocused on his troubles. "Then I kissed her out there, even though no one was around… she just- she freaked out. She started getting mad and I didn't know what I did." Jaune looked out the window and Pyrrha followed his gaze to see their broken moon floating past the window. If it was on this side of the dorm building, that meant that it was nearly the end of the night already.

"She told you she was feeling uncomfortable with kissing and so you kissed her?" Pyrrha cocked her head to one side, allowing her dark red ponytail to sway over her shoulder and brush lightly against her skin. Why in the world would he jump to physical contact if she had just said she was uncomfortable with that.

"Whuh?" Jaune seemed startled out of staring at the moon despite the fact that Pyrrha had given him only a few seconds before she responded. "Uhh, no. I kissed her and then she said she was feeling weird." Jaune shook his head to try and focus his thoughts. "We were walking together around the halls, holding hands. I put my arm around her and then she went over to the window. I tried to come and hold her and she stepped away. I told her there was no one else around so we kissed but it was like I was the only one kissing so I asked her if she was okay and that's when she exploded at me." Apparently the headshaking had done its job as Pyrrha finally started getting Jaune to actually explain what had happened so she could wrangle with all the different emotions he was presenting.

"Had she ever told you that kissing made her feel uncomfortable before?" Pyrrha wanted to go sit on the bedside with him, she wanted to rest her hand on his shoulder, or his thigh and tell him it would be okay, that he and Ruby would figure it out or that he didn't need to figure it out with her. But, she kept the same distance she would have if Ruby had been right there with them and stood solemnly by the door.

"Yeah." Jaune barked. He sounded exasperated, exhausted and at his wit's end, "She told me she didn't want to kiss in front of our friends because it made her uncomfortable." Jaune threw his hands out to the sides in frustration, "But there was no one else out there so why did she freak out? I was doing what she asked. Wasn't I?"

It sounded to Pyrrha like Jaune had very much, not been doing what Ruby asked if her reaction was anything to go by. She knew that he wore his emotions right out in the open and had absolutely zero talent at subtlety. He could not pick up on signals, nor could he do anything with any amount of discretion, he always just leapt in head first and gave it his all. That overly honest, no holds barred attitude was one of the things she liked about him. You never had to worry about Jaune's intentions because he always made them very clear. And his devotion was unwavering, once he made a decision he went for it completely. So he probably thought that his physical shows of affection would prove to Ruby how much he cared.

"Did you though Jaune? What about today when you were out with Ren and Nora?" Pyrrha had the thought to glance around the room and noticed the other two still had not returned. They were most likely still out enjoying one another's company, had possibly even gotten a hotel for the night. That was good though, it meant that she and Jaune could have this discussion without interruption and without Jaune trying to hide anything from the other two. He was never dishonest, but he did get embarrassed.

"Well that's different though, isn't it?" Jaune tangled his fingers in his short blond hair and pulled hard, gritting his teeth against the pain and frustration, "That was a date. We were out on a date with them. Shouldn't I kiss my girlfriend on a date?" He stood from the bed and gestured towards her in askance, "If we were dating, wouldn't you want me to kiss you when we went out together?"

Pyrrha coughed in surprise and turned away towards the wall to hide her immediate and fierce blush. She felt her voice catch in her throat and couldn't make any sort of noise besides a strangled hacking as she tried to regulate her breathing even if somewhat. Jaune rushed forward to her when she started to choke and put a caring hand on her back. She quickly brushed him away and took a step towards the bathroom. She tried again to use words, make her opinion known but just choked on her own voice again. She settled for holding a finger up behind her to indicate she needed a moment and stepped into the bathroom.

Once the door was shut behind her she felt her throat relax at least a little. She quickly turned on the water so she could cover her coughing noises and possibly take a small drink to try and collect herself. A few seconds later and she found that she could breathe normally and possibly even speak like the highly educated, rational human she was.

"Sorry, just one moment." She called out through the door. Hoping to ease whatever worry she may have created in Jaune. She was pleasantly surprised when her voice rang loud and true enough that he undoubtedly heard her. She took just another moment to steel herself, shut the water off and returned to the room.

"Are you okay Pyrrha?" Jaune was waiting attentively by the door and had obvious concern in his eyes that had somehow overridden his feelings about what had occurred with Ruby. Pyrrha stepped past him, further into the room and towards her night stand.

"Yes I'm fine. I'm sorry I worried you. I just…" she hesitated here, she had not considered at all what she would tell him had happened since she obviously could not tell him the truth. "I just swallowed a little funny I guess. I'm very tired." She eased her hands up to her forehead and lifted her bronze tiara off her head to make a show of getting ready for bed. Jaune pulled out his scroll and sighed audibly when he checked the time.

"Oh Oum, it's so late. I shouldn't have kept you up with all of this." Jaune threw his scroll on his bedside with a humph and then collapsed alongside it, face down. Pyrrha sat gently on her own bed, facing him and crossed her hands in her lap.

"No, don't worry at all. We're partners right? Let me help you figure this out." Pyrrha tried to sound reassuring. At first Jaune didn't move and she feared he may have fallen asleep immediately but then he rolled over with a groan and slowly pulled himself to a sitting position.

"What is there to figure out? She dumped me." Jaune's voice fell back to forlorn sadness.

"She dumped you… because you kissed her too much?" Pyrrha set her tiara on her night stand and pulled further back onto her bed so that the backs of her knees were pushed against the comforter.

"That's what she said yeah," Jaune pulled himself together a little and drug his legs up onto the bed so he could sit cross legged.

"Did she say anything else?" Pyrrha was certain that Ruby wouldn't have just broken up with him over kissing. She was certain Jaune had said something else earlier but he had been rambling so much she wanted to hear him say it again now that he seemed more focused.

"Well…" Jaune scratched the back of his head in thought and mentally ran through the painful argument again in his head. "Yeah, she said that we must make other people feel uncomfortable. That everyone was still her friends and she didn't want to make them feel uncomfortable. But why would anyone be uncomfortable with us dating? I thought everyone would just be happy for us. Is there someone who wasn't happy?" Pyrrha felt her voice catch again but was better prepared this time and forced a hard cough into her hand to clear it.

"Of course not Jaune. We were all very happy for you two." Pyrrha had to physically force herself not to tear up as she told Jaune yet another lie to cover her own affections for him. She understood now what may have happened. Of course Ruby had asked him to tone down displays of physical affection. She had been worried about Pyrrha seeing them together and feeling jealous or sad about her and Jaune's relationship. Of course this was another example of Ruby putting someone else before herself. But she had let it get to the point that it drove the two of them apart? There had to be more there that Jaune hadn't picked up on.

"So why then? Why would it matter if we kissed around everyone else?" Jaune nearly had tears in his eyes again and seemed to be bordering on hysteria.

"Jaune. I think you need to talk to her." Pyrrha said softly and Jaune opened his mouth to retort but she cut him off with a simple, raised hand. "Not right now, in the morning, perhaps in the afternoon. After you have both slept and had some time to think. To clear your heads." Jaune let his hands drop and clamped his mouth shut. "But Jaune. If you want to make it work with Ruby you need to respect her desires. She doesn't want to be public with your displays of physical affection. That's all that should matter there. You two need to find a way to make that work, regardless of why it is she wants it."

Jaune dropped his eyes to the floor and seemed to steep in thought. Pyrrha watched as his usually crystal clear eyes clouded over with a mixture of fatigue and internal conflict. He looked so absolutely troubled and it hurt Pyrrha to see him in such turmoil.

"You need to rest Jaune. You aren't thinking clearly. I don't think either of you were." Pyrrha wanted some kind of response, she needed him to look up at her. He didn't.

"Yeah okay. You're right." Jaune rolled over on the bed and dropped his head to the pillow without ever lifting his gaze. Pyrrha's chest tightened, because for the first time since they became partners, she had failed to help Jaune. He was going to sleep, upset, angry and confused.

"Hey Pyrrha?" Jaune called out without moving to face her. She lurched her head up just to see the matted hair on the back of his head. "Thank you."

"Of course Jaune. What are partners for?" Pyrrha felt a single tear slip down her cheek and quickly stood and turned to the bathroom door. "I'm going to take a shower before bed." Jaune didn't respond, he just pulled the blankets over himself and tucked them into the crook between his shoulder and neck. Pyrrha reached the doorway to the bathroom and cast one last look at Jaune before flicking off the light and stepping into the bathroom.

She closed the door and quickly stirpped out of her training clothes and what little armor she wore all the way to the room. She left most of the larger pieces, her breastplate, leg guards and arm guards, even her weapons in the rocket lockers they were all provided. But, she did bring a few pieces, such as her tiara and gloves back to the dorm with her. After all the years of training, she just felt exposed without armor of any kind on.

Once she had stripped all the armor and dirty, sweat soaked clothing off and cast it aside to be dealt with later she turned the water on strong and cold. She gave it just a second before stepping in and letting the chilly water flow through her hair, over her shoulders and down her back. The exercise with Blake, the stress of finding Jaune crying and the tension of their entire conversation had left her hot and miserable. She felt like her skin was clinging to itself and like her hair hadn't been washed in weeks even though she had showered this morning as she did every morning.

After standing underneath the steady stream of water for a few moments Pyrrha reached over and turned it slightly warmer to try and help ease the stress away. The cold had woken her up and now she needed to process what she was feeling. She leaned her head back and exposed her neck to the stream, feeling the water run down her chest and wash away the day's troubles helped her focus.

Jaune and Ruby had very possibly broken up today. That was terrible. They had been so happy together and Ruby had agonized over the entire process. So, for that to come crashing down around them was just horrendous. It seemed like she and Ruby had just barely reconciled as well. They had come to terms with each other and with Ruby and Jaune's relationship. Things were beginning to settle into place with Ruby and Jaune as a couple. Just as it all started to seem normal their entire world was thrown into chaos again by all of this.

Pyrrha desperately wanted to talk with Ruby about it and see what had happened. She wanted to thank her for the concerted effort to not make Pyrrha feel uncomfortable around them but tell her it wasn't so important that it should ruin their relationship. But, it wasn't her place to confront the little brunette team leader about it. Jaune needed to talk with her and Pyrrha just had to live with what came of that.

She couldn't imagine Jaune had been forcing himself on Ruby. That seemed impossible. Jaune was not a predator in that sense. She could see though how Jaune might have missed signs that she was pulling away or that his affections embarrassed her. That was completely possible and directly in line with who she knew Jaune was. But she had explicitly mentioned it to him and he had ignored that? There must be some part of the puzzle she was missing, some item Jaune hadn't mentioned to her.

Pyrrha reached for her shower loofah and began to lather herself with soap, running the hardened sponge across her skin and scraping at the spots she knew were dirtiest. But, what was she supposed to do? Pyrrha couldn't deny how she still felt. She still had feelings for Jaune. She still regarded Ruby as an extremely close and considerate friend, someone very deserving of any help she could offer her. How was she supposed to reconcile these two desires within herself?

On one hand she knew that they made each other happy and that she wanted to see them happy. Ruby had been nothing but glorious as a friend and was a simply incredible person. How could Pyrrha betray her in any way? But Pyrrha was also loyal to her partner, her leader, the boy she was pining after. She had been more than willing to help him chase after Weiss if the opportunity for her assistance ever arose. When he had expressed desires for Ruby, Pyrrha had simply wanted to make sure that he was certain about his feelings and that it wasn't just a passing crush. Once he had explained how he felt, and Pyrrha had seen the sincerity of his emotions she had given him her full support.

But on the other hand she knew that she could also make Jaune happy if given the chance. They were partners and she was closer to him than she as with anyone else, closer than she had ever been with anyone else and she knew she would be a good fit for him. She would love to have his attentions lavished on her, it might be embarrassing at times and she would certainly blush and push away at him. But, knowing that he cared about her constantly would feel so reassuring. Pyrrha would always be there for him when he needed it as well, she already was. She was sure that if they did split, that Ruby would recover as well. They hadn't been together very long at all and it seemed like Ruby was the one who wanted to end the relationship at this point. So, it would take time for her to heal but she would. Her team was incredible, they would help her wouldn't they? And of course Pyrrha would be there to support her as well as she could.

Pyrrha slammed her fist against the shower wall in anger. How could she even think that way? How could she actually want to see Jaune and Ruby break up. They would both be devastated. They were her friends, she should want to help them. But, she wanted to help herself too.

"Pyrrha? Are you okay?" a bright bubbly voice, laced with concern, called out from the other room and Pyrrha realized Ren and Nora must have returned while she had been showering. Pyrrha cleared her throat to try and mask the emotions she was feeling.

"Oh yes, I'm alright. I didn't realize you had returned." Pyrrha gave the knobs to the water a quick twist to shut them off and stepped out into the bathroom, wrapping herself in a towel before using another to dry her hair. She picked up her scroll and checked the time, it was already past five in the morning. She must have been in the shower for nearly a half hour. She quickly gathered her armor pieces, moved her dirty clothes to the hamper and poked her head out into the room. "Nora, could you please hand me my running clothes? I forgot to bring them in with me." Nora waved happily at her and moved to the dresser.

"Are you headed out for your morning exercise now?" Ren asked from the bedside where he was removing his shoes.

"Yes," Pyrrha forced a smile, one she was all too accustomed to wearing, just usually not around her team, "Even if it's the weekend I can't slack off, even for a minute." Ren nodded his head sagely, as usual, and Nora bounced over to the door and handed Pyrrha a deep red tank top and some golden bronze running shorts. "Thank you Nora."

Pyrrha pulled her head back into the bathroom and changed into her workout attire. A run would help her clear her head. She couldn't let them know that she had been up all night with Jaune though. If they knew she had been agonizing over this they might ask what her plans were. Pyrrha had to act as if everything was normal for had pulled all nighters before, she just had to be sure not to put herself into any situation where she had to think too quickly and she would be fine.

Once her clothes were on she fastened her gloves into place and reached for her tiara which she realized was still on the night stand. She breathed deeply to try and steady herself. For now, she would just do nothing. If she did nothing then she wouldn't risk doing the wrong thing and letting her own emotions influence Jaune and Ruby's relationship. There was a word for doing nothing but she couldn't drudge it out of her memory at this point in time. She shook her head and slapped both cheeks to bring a little color into them, and avoid looking like the walking dead zombie she knew she was at this point, and then stepped into the dorm to greet her teammates and the new day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Goood morning! Who else went to the Volume 2 screening last night? Wasn't that fun! I really loved the bonus episode of Chibi and Cabose's lesson on makings friends. Rooster Teeth does a great job with these Tugg events. I hope everyone who went had as good of a time as I did.
> 
> Are you guys getting a little more feel for how the story will bounce around between perspectives now? I know it stayed heavily on Jaune and Ruby for the start but now we have been inside a few other character's heads as well. Like i've said this story is really rather long and so there will be lots more jumping going on, lots of new perspectives and you'll get a chance to see most everyone's take on most things that happen.
> 
> Thanks for keeping up and reading along through this story. I am loving hearing from you all as you go, the good and the bad. Ruby and Jaune's "Little Talk" got a lot of mixed opinions. Ruby's talk with her team seemed to quell some of the worries about what I was doing. Hopefully Jaune and Pyrrha's talk does the same. Please let me know what you think. I love talking to you all.
> 
> I also wanted to give a shout out to user 'ZHsteven' who took the time to go through and read and review every single chapter of this story. It was so great to see someone move through the story and watch their mood change and shift with story over the course of an afternoon. Thanks for doing that.
> 
> Anyways, thanks so much for reading so far. Big things coming this weekend.
> 
> -Zach


	19. Going Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Jaune revisit their discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The curtains over Team RWBY's huge window did little to stop the Sunday Morning sunlight from pouring in on them. Ruby pulled her sheets up over her head and rolled away from the harsh, natural light.

"Agh, someone shut that off." Ruby reached behind her and batted a hand at the light, trying to shoo it away like an insect.

"You can't shut off the sun you dolt." Weiss called up from her bunk beneath Ruby, "That's not how it works." Ruby groaned into her pillow and folded it across the back of her head in a vain attempt to shut out the light.

"Come on Rubes, up and at 'em." Yang stepped over to Ruby's bunk and lifted one edge of the suspended frame so that Ruby rolled out of her bed and onto the floor with a loud thunk.

"Owww, hey Yang. Come on!" Ruby protested indignantly from her new spot on the floor. "It's Sunday, don't I get to sleep in?"

"Sleep in? Are you being serious?" Weiss's stare was so intense Ruby could feel her eyes boring into her even through the sheets and blankets that had plummeted to the ground with her. "It's already two in the afternoon Ruby. Frankly, you've slept quite enough for one day."

Ruby flung the blankets off of herself with a desperate flail of her arms and wiped at her eyes to clear her early morning vision. She found Weiss's alarm clock sitting on her bedside table and the numbers clearly read 1:45 PM. She looked to the window and saw how high the sun already was in the sky.

"Whuh? How come no one woke me up?" Ruby lurched to her feet and continued disentangling herself from the blankets that seemed determined to ensnare her. There were a few moments of silence from her teammates. As Ruby finally extricated herself from the blanket based deathtrap she looked around at the sullen faces around her.

"You, uhh, you had kind of a rough night you know? We wanted to let you sleep." Yang pretended to be incredibly interested in a bird outside the window and looked away from her little sister. The events of the previous evening came rushing back to Ruby in a frightening torrent of emotions. The fight with Jaune, the yelling, crying in her room with her teammates. He thought she had dumped him….

"Oh… yeah…" Ruby's shoulders slumped and her smile slipped from her face.

"But today's a new day right? You can go in with a level head and talk things through." Blake spoke for the first time and Ruby was surprised to see her sitting attentively at the edge of her mattress, book nowhere in sight.

"Do you want to talk things through though?" Yang's voice drew Ruby's eyes back to her, "I mean, didn't he do exactly what you asked him not to?"

"I still think that this is a colossal waste of time. We have so many, much more important things to focus on than boys and drama and love…" Weiss drew the last word out sarcastically, showing just what she thought of such things.

"But… I mean… Shouldn't I try to fix it?" Ruby looked from Weiss back to her older sister. Hoping from some advice. Yang had rarely lead her astray in serious moments like these.

"You don't have to. Sometimes if you force something like this it still winds up ending but the longer you stretch it, the worse the break-up is." Yang took a small side-step and leaned against the bookcase near the window. "Do you remember that girl I dated like two years back Ruby? We would always fight and then make-up and then be at each other's throats again by the weekend?" Ruby nodded her head and noticed Weiss perked up and turned to listen to Yang's story. "Well when we eventually ended things for good. Let's just say it was really gross."

"Aww Yang the heart breaker." Weiss started in sardonically.

"Actually she dumped me." Yang deadpanned and Weiss dropped her accusing finger and snapped her jaw shut before another phrase could escape. "I just feel like if we had ended things earlier we might have been able to go back to being friends ya know?"

"But that's not every relationship. If you think you may be able to salvage it Ruby, you should at least try." Blake's eyes had never left Ruby, completely ignoring the other two girl's exchange. Ruby's thoughts were interrupted when Zwei pushed hard against her leg and whined.

"Oh dang it Zwei. Right now?" Ruby looked down at her dog sympathetically.

"I'll take him sis' don't worry." Yang grabbed their dog's leash off of Ruby's desk and trotted over to attach it to his collar.

"Oh can I come with you? I love walking him." Weiss nearly fell off the edge of her bed in her rush to scratch at Zwei's head. "'Cause you're just so adorable aren't you? Yes, yes you are."

"Alright, alright Princess. We're taking him to the bathroom though, not out on a date with you." Yang pulled at Zwei's leash and led him out the door with Weiss close behind. "Hold tight, we won't be gone long."

Ruby waved farewell to her sister and partner and threw herself down on Weiss's bed with a sigh.

"Could you rewind time a couple hours so I can sleep more?" Ruby flopped her head forward so her chin was against the mattress and stared across the room at Blake who was still perched at the edge of her bed.

"What are you gonna do Ruby?" Blake had all the seriousness of Professor Goodwitch and Ruby forced herself to adopt at least some of that tone.

"I don't know Blake. I've never done this before." Ruby lifted herself up and pushed over to sit at the edge of Weiss's mattress. "I don't want to not have Jaune as a friend anymore. I don't want to not have all of Team JNPR as friends anymore." Ruby's eyes started to swell and she clenched the edge of the bed to try and hold back her tears. She had been awake all of what three minutes and she was already crying. She needed to grow up.

Ruby looked down at her lap and rubbed at her eyes with her arms to try and stop the tears before they could really start. Then she felt an arm around her shoulders and looked up to find Blake had moved across the room and was sitting by her side. She had her arm around Ruby and was running tiny circles on her shoulder with her thumb.

"Like Yang said last night, you just have to go with what makes you most comfortable." Blake said softly and pulled Ruby's head gently against her shoulder. Ruby curled her arms around Blake's waist and leaned into her. Feeling the warmth coming off of Blake helped calm Ruby down and after a few moments she pulled away with one last sniffle.

"Thanks Blake. You're the best." Ruby leaned in for one more quick hug which Blake returned and then stood. "I'm gonna shower and then go talk to him." Ruby gave Blake a confident smile, incredibly relieved now that she had decided on a course of action and trotted off towards the bathroom.

One quick shower and a fresh change of clothes later found Ruby standing in the hallway, facing Team JNPR's door. She raised her fist slowly and knocked at the door, immediately regretting it and wishing that if she pulled her hood down over her eyes that she would turn invisible. Just as she decided it was worth a try and went to fling the thick fabric down over her face the door swung open to reveal the happiest face on campus.

"Gooood Morning Ruby." Nora said with an impossible amount of cheer.

"It's not morning anymore Nora." Ren's voice called out from somewhere in the dorm room.

"Well it kind of is for us. We just got up." Nora gave Ruby a not so subtle wink.

"Hey Nora." Ruby said nervously. She was really hoping that Jaune would have been alone in here. What were the chances of that though right? Apparently very small. "Thanks for yesterday. I had fun with you guys." Nora face broke into a huge smile.

"Oooh I had fun too Ruby. Maybe sometime we should ditch the boys and just go out on the town together." Nora put both hands on Ruby's shoulders with far too much enthusiasm, "You should come out to the club with me and Yang! We had so much fun last time. Oh my Oum." Ruby chuckled a little and levered Nora's hand off of her shoulders with no small effort.

"You know I'm not old enough to drink, right Nora?" Ruby tried to give her a reassuring smile, happy that she had a feasible, legal excuse to avoid going anywhere near that part of Vale.

"Nora, I believe Ruby had a reason for coming over." Ren was as calm and perceptive as ever. Where even was he? Ruby tried to crane her head around Nora to see the boy but couldn't find him anywhere in the dorm. Who she did spot however was Jaune. She lifted a weak hand in hello and he eeked out a tiny smile.

"Hey, Jaune, can we talk?" Ruby said so quietly she was certain even Nora hadn't been able to hear. But, the redheaded girl stepped quietly out of the way and Jaune approached the doorway all the same.

"Hey Ruby. Yeah. Come on." Jaune motioned out into the hallway and Ruby stepped back so he could pass. She cast one last look into the room and saw Nora with an expression she had never worn before, a frown. Ruby turned back to the hallway and followed Jaune down the stairs and out of the building so they could have some amount of privacy.

They walked just a short distance from the building to a small clearing that lay under the shadow of the CCT tower. Ruby glanced around and realized this is where she and Jaune had wandered on the very first day in search of the dorms. She fondly remembered how they had searched for another three hours to find the dorms. If only they had known they were so close, or that they weren't even supposed to sleep in the dorms until after initiation.

"Is here good?" Ruby asked quietly. Jaune had not stopped walking yet and Ruby didn't want to drag this all out any longer than it had to be. It was like pulling out a splinter right? You have to just do it because the worrying and fussing is worse than the actual thing. Jaune stopped and turned around. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and didn't meet her gaze.

"Yeah, I guess, yeah." Jaune kicked at the ground and stared out at the tower. "Can I say something real quick though. Before you start?" Ruby nodded her head, "I just, no matter what happens right now I wanted to say I was sorry for the way I acted. You asked me to do things and I said I would and then I didn't. I wasn't really listening to you I guess."

"I'm sorry too Jaune. I didn't even talk about it. I just sort of demanded that you change and I didn't meet you in the middle or anything." Ruby clasped her hands behind her back. Standing here apologizing to each other isn't exactly how she had seen this starting, but maybe it was a good sign. Jaune finally lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"And last night… I was just tired and kinda lonely and confused about everything that had happened." He pulled his hands out of his pockets and kneaded his fingers together in a small ball in front of him.

"And I was just so frustrated I wasn't really thinking straight Jaune. I shouldn't have freaked out like I did." Ruby let her hands fall to her sides and fiddled with the hem of her cloak to try and muster up the courage to follow the plan she had made.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Jaune's eyes had what Ruby thought was a glimmer of hope and she felt her chest tighten. She didn't mean to mislead him with all the apologizing and now she was having second thoughts. She closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn't let herself get distracted again. She had made her decision for the right reasons and she had to stick to it.

"Jaune, I don't think we should keep dating." Ruby let the comment drop between them like a dying ursa. Jaune stared at her across the gap between them and she watched that glimmer fade.

"Ruby?" Jaune didn't move, he didn't stretch out his hand towards her, he didn't tear up. He had thought she had broken up with him last night so this shouldn't be a huge shock to him. But still, she expected him to react a little more energetically than this.

"I just. I don't know if I can." Ruby wanted to turn away and hide her face. She was so ashamed that this was what she had picked and she felt like a coward. She didn't want to risk all the friends she had made outside of her team since she got here. She didn't want to destroy the lives everyone else had built. She was so scared.

"I guess I just figured… after we had some time to think and everything." Jaune shoved his hands back in his pockets. "Can I at least know what happened? Was it really because I was too clingy? Because I was all over you all the time?" He looked absently into the trees and she couldn't read his face.

"No...umm kind of. Not really. But sort of." Ruby wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, that she was just a stupid little girl but she knew that wasn't true. "I just…" Ruby felt like she had told him this before and didn't want a repeat of last night, "You know, I'm still way younger than everyone else...and, I'm not really very comfortable with a lot of stuff yet."

"But I would never make you do anything Ruby." Jaune kicked at the ground with his toe, scraping it through the dirt.

"I know." she paused, "I know. That's not what I mean. I mean like all of this." she gestured widely at the school around them. "I don't know what I'm doing with any of it."

"So what was all that about making other people uncomfortable then? Was it really just that you were uncomfortable with me?" Jaune turned away from her a little more and continued to scuff the ground with his shoe.

"No, really. I mean not at first. I wasn't uncomfortable with you Jaune. I just…" she took a deep breath to steady herself, "I never liked when Yang used to kiss her, uhh, partners around me. It always made me feel really weird. I hated that sometimes it made me feel like I couldn't hang out with my own sister. So I didn't want to make anybody else feel like that."

"Oh, I guess I kinda get that…" Jaune pulled his hands out of his pockets and threw them behind his head. The light caught in his hair and Ruby saw again some of the things that had pulled her to him in the first place. He was so true to himself, there was no hiding. As he stood there she could see how hurt he was and how he was trying to process what she was saying. "But why did you let it get to be such a big deal? Why didn't you just tell me about that?"

"Well there was another reason too. And it wasn't really- I couldn't tell you about it." Ruby saw Jaune's face scrunch up in confusion. She still didn't feel like it was her place to out Pyrrha's feelings for Jaune, especially right now.

"What?" Jaune kept searching the tree line for something he couldn't seem to find.

"It's because of someone else." Ruby blurted out much more quickly than she had planned too. Jaune turned suddenly to face her, shock and betrayal on his face. He brought his hands down to his sides and even though they stayed open Ruby could tell he was angry.

"Someone else? What?" Jaune's entire stance seemed to fall apart and Ruby realized what she had just said.

"No, no! Not like that." She waved her hands about in front of her frantically. "It's just. Us being together was hurting someone else and I didn't want that."

"How could us being together be hurting someone?" Jaune had a slight edge to his voice but Ruby completely understood how that could make him upset.

"It was someone that had-" Ruby stopped herself again but decided at this point she had to tell him something or risk him really getting angry and ruining the whole point, "Someone else that likes you and seeing us together hurt her a lot."

"Someone else…. Who liked me?" All of Jaune's tension fell away, but then he shook his head just a little and met her eyes again, "Why should that matter though Ruby? We were together. That's what should matter."

Ruby looked down at the ground. She knew what he meant. It was the same thing everyone else had told her when she had wanted to avoid this entire situation in the first place. But even after they started dating that feeling that she had betrayed Pyrrha somehow never went away. Even after they sparred on the roof and made up in Ozpin's office, she still felt like she was ripping the other girl's heart out just by being with Jaune.

"Because Jaune. We can't put ourselves first. We have our teams to worry about. Because we're supposed to be the leaders." Ruby knew that sounded like a terrible, canned, lecture class line and Pyrrha wasn't even a member of her team. But, it was how she always felt, even before she was a leader.

"So that means we don't get to be happy?" Jaune sounded like he was begging with her, or with fate.

"It just means we have a lot more going on than anyone else… and," Ruby lifted her eyes back to his slowly, afraid of what she might find there, "and I just don't think I'm ready for all of this too." Ruby waved her hand between them to show that she was talking about them, not about her role as leader of RWBY.

"Yeah… okay. If you're really sure." Jaune's shoulders fell completely loose at his sides and he sighed as he tucked his hands into his hoodie's front pocket. "We gave it a heck of a shot though didn't we?"

"Mmhmm," Ruby hummed in agreement because she found herself unable to speak properly. That was it, they were really broken up now, actually done.

"I guess, I guess we just go back to how we were before right?" Jaune returned to scuffing the ground with his shoe, pushing against the line he had made before to form a small cross on the ground, "Or at least try?"

"I would really like that." Ruby smiled for the first time since she had decided what she had to do, "I would really, really, like that." Jaune raised his eyes back to hers and smiled weakly back. Ruby stepped forward towards him and calmly rested her hands on his shoulders. Jaune's smile faltered but he didn't pull away at all. Ruby closed her eyes and leaned slowly up to put a light kiss on his cheek and then stepped back and turned away. She raised a hand to her cheek and wiped a single tear away before he could see it.

"Ruby…?"

"I'll see you in class tomorrow? I still haven't fought anyone for Goodwitch's class." Ruby said without turning around. She didn't trust herself to see him again.

"Yeah," Jaune's voice was shaky and uneven, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." Ruby had to forcibly will herself not to run away across the clearing back to her room. She took each step slowly and deliberately until she rounded the corner of the hedges and then broke into a full sprint back to the safety of her bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - So I guess in a way that could the considered the end of an Arc. Like a story Arc I mean, don't take that as some sort of terrible pun about Jaune.
> 
> Tomorrow's chapter will start to move the story away from Jaune and Ruby's break-up to show what everyone else is doing and how they're all handling it.
> 
> I hope you're enjoying the story still, even if it is a bit sad right now. That's just the way things are sometimes though, but it has to get bad before it can get good right?
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, please leave me some vicious reviews to let me know how terrible this chapter was so I can do it better next time.
> 
> -Zach


	20. Not Just Another Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has to adapt, not just them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

 

Today was the day. Today. Was the day. Nora sprung out of bed and onto her feet. She didn't even bother looking before leaping directly onto Pyrrha's bed because she knew the other girl would already be off for her morning run.

"Good mor-" Nora slipped on something under the covers and went flailing to the ground.

"Ahhh" Pyrrha yelled out as Nora fell on top of her and pulled them both off the bed.

"Oh hey Pyrrha. No run today?" Nora had a blanket over her face but knew that voice belonged to her fellow red head. Though she was sure that Pyrrha used some sort of hair dye, that shade was just too dark.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha looked over to the clock and saw that it was already half past six. "What? How did I sleep in?" Pyrrha leapt to her feet and glanced frantically around the room.

"Well I mean you didn't sleep any yesterday and you still did all your workout stuff." Nora rolled onto her back and sprawled out in the gap between the beds.

"Didn't sleep any? What are you talking about?" Pyrrha's frantic search ended back on Nora.

"Yeah I mean, you were still up when we got back." Nora cocked her head off to one side and regarded Pyrrha curiously. Did she think that they thought that she had been asleep before she got there? She had obviously been talking to Jaune about Ruby all night. "It's no big deal though right? Just one missed early morning run." Pyrrha fell back to her bed and rested her head in her hands.

"I suppose. It's just. I've never missed a run before. Ever." Pyrrha lifted her head and squared her shoulders, "I shall just have to double the length of my run this evening. I believe I will have time after our classes are finished. Nora?" Pyrrha dropped her gaze to the girl still sprawled out on the floor. "Do you know what time the gym closes?"

"Uhh, yeah I think at like ten." Nora had to think about it. She definitely knew what time the cafeteria closed, but she was pretty sure she remembered Yang whining about the gym not being open all night.

"I will have to go the gym first then before I run so I can finish that first before they close." Pyrrha began rattling off the things she would have to do in order to correct for her oversleeping, honestly why was she so worried? Nora rolled backwards in a reverse somersault and came up up to her feet. She spun neatly on her heel around the edge of Jaune's bed and ended up at the foot of Ren's bed, the boy still lying neatly under his blankets.

"Gooood Morning Ren." Nora called out in a cheery, sing songy voice that she just knew he loved to be woken up by.

"Good morning Nora." Ren said almost immediately but without opening his eyes, "Is it time for class already?" He slowly opened his eyes and leaned up to greet her with a smile.

"Yes, yes it is!" Nora skipped sideways and stopped at the foot of Jaune's bed. "Oohhh Jaaauunne" She had no idea how he wasn't awake yet, but he would be now. There was no response from the bundle of covers. Was he really that tired? Well then it was time for a special wake up call.

"Nora, don't…" Ren warned from his spot by his dresser as he prepared his toiletries. Nora gave Ren a sly wink and leapt directly into the air above Jaune's bed, threw her arms and legs out to the sides around her and came crashing down.

"It's time to get up!" Nora screamed as she fell onto the mattress. But, there was no thrashing or cursing, no flailing blonde boy, wailing in pain as he was crushed by his overzealous teammate.

"Oh no, guys." Nora looked back and forth between Ren and Pyrrha, "I squished him." She rolled quickly off the bed and to her feet.

"You didn't squish him Nora. He's not there." Ren patted her on the shoulder as he

walked over to the bathroom. Pyrrha gasped out loud and darted to Nora's side.

"Where is he?" She threw the covers up in the air, confirming that he was in fact missing. "Oh where could he have gone?"

"Hey guys, I'm right here." Jaune closed the door behind him as he came inside the dorm room. He was wearing sneakers under a pair of gym shorts and a loose fitting tank top with the Beacon Academy logo on the front. "I just went out for a jog."

"Why didn't you wake me Jaune? I missed my run this morning myself." Pyrrha's shoulders relaxed and she let out a quiet breath of relief.

"Oh," Jaune rubbed the back of his head, "Well I felt bad because I'm the one who kept you up the other night and I'm not exactly the fastest runner yet so I didn't want to like slow you down or anything."

"Well I am very proud of you for getting up and exercising on your own." Pyrrha nodded and smiled at Jaune.

"Plus I bet you're super hungry right?" Nora dashed to Jaune and gripped him firmly by the shoulders, "Right? Right RightRight?" She began bouncing on her heels trying to imbue Jaune with her excitement but he just looked a little scared.

"Uhh yeah, yeah I guess so. Why?" Jaune tried to back away but Nora wasn't letting him escape right before the best part.

"Because today is pancake day Jaune!" She leapt into the air, using Jaune's shoulders as a springboard. "It's pancake day, it's pancake day."

"Doesn't the cafeteria serve pancakes every Monday?" Pyrrha asked while trying to avoid Nora's flailing legs as she was still jumping up and down, keeping Jaune very much pined in place.

"Well yeah but that doesn't make it any less exciting." Nora stopped jumping and spun on Pyrrha, "Pancakes are always something to be excited about," She said as seriously as she could manage, though it was hard when she was this excited so her face soon broke back into a wide grin.

"I suppose you are right." Pyrrha turned to her dresser and began removing a clean uniform for the day, "We should hurry then, to ensure we get there while there are enough pancakes for you."

"Enough pancakes? Enough pancakes?" Nora spun needlessly back to Jaune, "I can never have enough pancakes."

"Waffles are just better though." Jaune tried to laugh found himself pressed against the wall and a very threatening finger in his face.

"You take that back." Nora levelled an incredibly serious glare at him. Waffles, better? No, that could not be allowed.

"Nora, let Jaune go." Ren emerged from the bathroom, he was wrapped in his towel now and making his way over to his dresser to deposit his shampoo and grab clothes for the day. "Remember everyone gets to pick their own favorite foods."

"But, Ren, he's wrong." Nora whined. She knew that Jaune was allowed to think whatever he wanted. But it was just so much more fun to play like this.

"Yes Nora, but he's allowed to be wrong." Ren gave Jaune a small, sympathetic smile as he passed.

"Oh well, your loss." Nora stuck her tongue out at Jaune and ran for the bathroom, "My turn next." she hollered as she slammed the door shut behind her.

Once they had all showered and gotten ready for the day Team JNPR headed down to the cafeteria to partake in the absolute best breakfast food ever created. Nora made sure to stack two plates as high as she could and carried them both back to their table with Team RWBY, the mighty stacks teetering dangerously as she walked. She finally reached the table and deposited her load successfully at her seat, only spilling a small amount of juice on the floor which she promised herself she would clean up before she left. Probably.

"Nora? That's a lot of pancakes…" The big blonde said from across the table, Yang was such a kidder.

"Really? I thought this was pretty small for round one," Nora side-eyed the stacks disapprovingly and shrugged. It wasn't her fault the chef said that she 'had to leave some for others', "I mean I had to tell the guy that this was for my whole team just to get them but still." Nora retrieved her knife and fork and began decimating the pancakes as quickly as possible so she could go back and get more. She added syrup and butter as she went, making sure the bottom ones didn't get too soggy as she made her way down.

"Good morning Yang." Pyrrha sang out happily as she led Ren and Jaune over to the table. They all three had plates piled high with bright fruits and dark green veggies.

"What's with the super healthy breakfast?" Yang eyed the plates suspiciously. Nora chuckled through a mouthful of pancake, only she could escape Ren's diet program.

"Oh Ren has the whole team on a wonderful meal plan." Pyrrha said cheerfully and sat beside Nora. Ren took Nora's other side and Jaune sat quietly at the far end of the table, away from all of them. "Well almost all of us." Pyrrha cast a sidelong glance at Nora and quickly diminishing pile of syrup soaked goodness to which Nora responded with a wry smile.

"Well, ish not my faul-t that you all need to be on a diet." Nora swallowed mid sentence and waved her fork at Pyrrha accusingly before returning to her food.

"Yeah thanks, I'll stick to bacon." Yang proceeded to continue eating her bacon and egg breakfast for a moment before leaning in towards JNPR's two female members conspiratorily. "So guys, how is Jaune?"

"Oh well," Pyrrha began awkwardly.

"He seems okay." Nora leaned her head around the remainder of her second stack of pancakes, "He even went for a run this morning." She flashed Yang a smile and then took a bite directly off of the pancake nearest her, getting syrup and crumbs all over her cheeks.

"Oh, uhh okay." Yang leaned back and returned to her food with much less vigor than before.

"Nora, are you going back for seconds?" Ren asked calmly from her side as she added a little more syrup to the final few pancakes.

"Of course I am," Nora sang out, happy that she was understood so well.

"Would you mind getting me another glass of orange juice while you're up?" He lifted his now half empty glass with a smile and Nora nodded.

"Of course I can Renny." Nora unceremoniously shoved nearly half a pancake into her mouth all at once and collected her plates with a pleased hum. Pancake day was absolutely the best day, it totally made up for the fact that it was a Monday.

Nora dropped her two dirty plates off at one of the many receptacles around the cafeteria to be collected by the staff and made her way back to the serving bar. She purposefully headed for a different section than before so as to avoid that annoying chef who didn't understand her need for delicious fluffy goodness. As she gathered her hot cakes into a manageable pile on her first plate she heard a round of loud, boisterous laughter come from her groups table and looked over just in time to see Weiss collecting herself up off the floor and trying to brush herself off. Nora finished gathering her pancakes, grabbed two tall glasses of juice and trotted back to the now very full table shared by Team JNPR and RWBY except for Ruby herself.

"Ah here you are Renny. One tall glass of OJ." Nora set the glass down with an over the top flourish as she rested her tray of pancakes on the table. "And a napkin for the clumsy princess." Nora extended her hand towards a bristling Weiss with a smile, holding a large bunch of cafeteria napkins out for her.

"Oh very funny, Nora." Weiss gave her an unwavering glare, "I suppose you were in on it with Yang then?"

"I'm tryin' to tell ya Weiss. I didn't do it this time. The floor in here is just really slippery, ya know?" Yang attempted to disarm Weiss with a grin but it seemed to only enrage her further.

"You're right I should totally believe you. After the buckets of water over the door, the toy snakes in my bed, not to mention the toilet seat coated in numbing medication. Now I should believe that you didn't set up some kind of terrible trap to trip me." Weiss put both hands on her hips and cocked a sassy chin towards her big blonde partner. There was a moment of silence as everyone realized just how prank filled and dangerous the RWBY dorm apparently was.

"Uhh Weiss, I think I actually might have spilled some stuff because I was carrying all these pancakes and stuff." Nora gestured sheepishly at the huge stack of literally steaming hotcakes in front of her.

"Oh, of all the inconsiderate, clumsy.." Weiss's frustration got the better of her and she groaned as she pinched her nose, "You owe me a new uniform blouse." She finally said with some measure of calm.

"Well I mean I can just wash that one for you." Nora offered cheerfully but stopped when she felt the air around her drop a couple degrees quite suddenly, "Or you know, get you a new one because eww cafeteria floor right?"

"Yeah see it wasn't me this time." Yang crossed her arms at Weiss.

"Oh just because it wasn't, doesn't mean that isn't just the kind of thing you'd do." Weiss's stare left Nora and she was more than grateful to let the two teammates bicker amongst themselves. She looked around for the much more approachable of the two sisters and realized again that she was missing.

"Hey Blake, where's Ruby? She wouldn't want to miss pancake day." Nora was really surprised to not see her there. Sure, she and Jaune had broken up and that might be a little weird, but couldn't they just like, sit at opposite ends of the table or something for a while?

"Oh, she wasn't really feeling well this morning. She said she would meet us in class though." Blake offered quietly and Nora was barely able to hear her over the escalating argument between the remaining two members of the other team.

"Really? That's such a bummer. I hope she feels better. Hopefully Goodwitch doesn't make her spar in class." Nora figured the chances were fairly high that Ruby wasn't actually sick and that it was far more likely that she was just trying to avoid Jaune. Still it couldn't hurt to offer her well wishes.

"Thanks Nora, I think she'll be okay." Blake offered Nora a kind smile which she happily returned. Nora then resumed devouring her pancakes and watching Yang and Weiss battle it out.

"Oh no. Now you're gonna go off about me not cleaning the room? Really?" Yang was up and pacing in a small half circle around the heiress's seat.

"I would really prefer if I didn't feel like I was coming home to a laundromat every night." Weiss lifted her nose high into the air, "And a fairly dirty one at that."

"Don't you even start on this. Just because we can't all afford to get a whole new closet of clothes every week." Yang threw her hands in the air.

"I… I do not but that many clothes." Weiss recoiled in hurt.

"Really? Then what was all that stuff you had shipped home last week? Hmm?" Yang bent down and put her violet eyes incredibly close to Weiss's ice blue ones.

"Please, that was hardly anything. Simply summer clothing that I won't be wearing for the next few months." Weiss lowered her eyes back to Yang's with renewed confidence, "Not all of us are walking furnaces. Not all of us can afford to flaunt all that skin twelve months out of the year." She waved a hand dismissively at Yang's bare midriff and exposed thighs and it was Yang's turn to pull back in hurt.

"Excuse me for being proud of my body," the big blonde held a hand to her chest, "Not everyone is so priggish they have to walk around in four layers of top just to feel decent." The bell rang and drowned out most of Weiss's response. Nora lifted herself from a now empty tray and gathered up her and Ren's dishes.

"Oh, thank you Nora." Ren looked up at her as she pulled his plates onto her tray.

"Of course Renny." Nora leaned down and gave Ren a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying off with the dishes towards the nearest wash bin. She carefully dumped them into the bin and hurried back towards her departing team. They made their way to Goodwitch's class without any further argument from Weiss and Yang. The two simply chose to walk on opposite sides of their seven person group. No wonder Ruby took those walks at night to avoid them. The tension between them was so intense Nora could almost feel it charging her semblance.

They all filed into their seats in the third row from the bottom and Nora glanced around to see how their seating arrangement had changed. She was in the middle now, with Ren on her left and Yang on her right, Jaune and Pyrrha were on Ren's other side with Jaune as far as possible from Team RWBY. Blake was by her partner and Weiss on the far side with the very last empty seat apparently reserved for their leader, who still wasn't here.

"Yang, hey Yang." Nora whispered as loud as she dared this close to the start of class. Eventually Yang's head jolted in recognition and she turned to Nora, uncrossing her arms as she did.

"Yeah?" Yang asked and Nora was happy to see that she was much less upset than when they had been in the cafeteria.

"Where's Ruby? Blake told me she felt sick this morning." Yang perked her head up slightly in surprise and looked down to the end of the row.

"Huh, that's weird." Yang whipped out her scroll to see a message notification that she had apparently missed. She opened and scanned the text quickly and sighed. "Looks like she still doesn't feel super great." Yang told Nora and then leaned around Blake to call down to Weiss. "Hey Ice Queen. Wanna let the Professor know that you're partner is taking a sick day?" Weiss and Blake both regarded her curiously and Weiss shook her head.

"This is exactly what I was worried about." She began getting out of her seat and making an overly exuberant show of fixing her skirt, "She's even missing classes now? We are going to have to have a real talk with her." Weiss left without waiting for a reply.

"I hope she feels better soon." Nora tried to offer helpfully but saw that it did very little to brighten Yang or Blake's spirits.

"We all do." Blake at least tried to smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - See? Things are totally on the upswing now right? Yeah totally headed upwards.
> 
> I like the idea of a squabbling Weiss and Yang. Especially over issues of day to day cleanliness like picking up clothes and stuff. Weiss is meticulous and Yang probably just leaves her stuff everywhere.
> 
> Glad you're all still enjoying the story so much. I wanna throw some much deserved thanks out to Dongyrn, Boombox94 and ZHsteven for their very much appreciated support over the last few rough chapters. There three have done such a wonderful job for me of reviewing almost every chapter and keeping me appraised of how the story is received. Thanks so much! =) Internet hugs for all three of you.
> 
> Anyways, that's it for the wonderful weekend double feature. Hope you liked it. Come back Tuesday to climb further up this fluffy trend we're on.
> 
> -Zach


	21. Rematch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Pyrrha get their rematch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

"Yang Xiaolong," Professor Goodwitch called up from the arena floor. A low murmur of excitement and anticipation went through the room. Everyone loved to watch Yang fight, her over the top style and unending flurry of blows made for incredibly entertaining combat. On the other hand, one of them was the poor soul who had to fight her and who wouldn't be nervous about that? Yang lifted herself easily from her seat and flashed a grin at her two teammates.

"I'll try and make it quick for you girls. We might even have time for an extra fight today." She engaged _Ember Celica_ with a flick of her wrists and began making her way out of the row of seats, squeezing past Weiss and Blake.

"And Pyrrha Nikos." Professor Goodwitch finished and Yang stumbled a little, nearly falling flat on her face. She looked back to Weiss expecting some sort of witty retort but the heiress simply huffed and turned her chin up and away. Yang righted herself and finished marching down the stairs. She glanced up at Team JNPR as she descended into the arena and saw Pyrrha giving a small wave to her team as she too began heading down the short flight of stairs.

"Alright ladies, I want a good clean match here. Try to keep it contained, the classroom isn't built for full out brawls." Professor Goodwitch leveled a concerned eye at Yang which she did her best to laugh off.

"Don't worry Professor, we'll do our best," she went to extend a big thumbs up before realizing that her gauntlets were already engaged. She opted to just pump her fist in the air a little, hoping it had the same effect. Judging by Professor Goodwitch's barely audible sigh however, it didn't quite do the trick.

"It will be nice to have a true rematch Yang," Pyrrha had her hands folded neatly in front of her and a wide smile stretched across her face. She extended a friendly handshake out to Yang. Yang lifted her gauntlet encased hand and shrugged with a smile.

"I would but uhh-" Yang was cut off when Pyrrha made a fist as well and tapped her knuckles against the front of _Ember Celica_ , "Oh yeah, that works. Good luck Pyrrha."

"And good luck to you Yang." Pyrrha dipped her head in a quick but polite bow before treading back to her starting position at the opposite end of the room. Professor Goodwitch retreated to her perch to oversee the match and Yang bounced on the balls of her feet preparing herself for the fight to come. She threw her arms back and brought them back in front of her in an x several times, shaking out her blonde tresses and trying to run over what she remembered of their previous duel. Pyrrha was strong sure, but she had beaten her before, this would be the same. She rolled her shoulders one final time and dropped into a stance, ready for the fight.

A mid-toned mechanical beep went off and the match was on. Yang dropped her front hand and lifted her rear guard. Pyrrha was advancing shield first, defensive against her decidedly offensive style. That worked just fine for Yang. She shuffled forward, maintaining her stance and preparing for the speed she knew Pyrrha possessed. When they were only a dozen or so paces apart Yang engaged a set of red dust shells in her right hand and lunged forward, eager to land the first blow and set the pace of the battle.

Pyrrha slid forward into a crouch, ducking low and raising her shield above her head to ward off the explosive punch coming her way. Yang tried to correct for the new angle but couldn't bring the blow low enough, fast enough. Pyrrha fell under her guard, knocked her right arm up, overextending the limb and slashed at Yang's exposed side with her blade. She spun around, whipping a single leg out behind her and catching Yang in the knees. Yang pushed off the ground with her good leg as she was tripped, putting herself into a tight backflip to avoid being laid out on the floor. As she unfurled she had no time to assume any sort of block before a round from Pyrrha's rifle slammed into her chest sending her back several feet.

Yang skidded across the floor and tried to collect herself. What in Oum's name had just happened? She glanced back up as she came to a stop but Pyrrha was on top of her. Yang ducked low and cocked her right hand back for an uppercut. Pyrrha swept in with her blade but Yang caught it on her left gauntlet, blocking the blow. Pyrrha spun around, shield high to counterbalance her weight and Yang lifted the uppercut at her unguarded chin. The Mystralian girl was just barely out of range, missing the edge of _Ember Celica_ by a fraction of an inch. Yang fired off the rounds anyways, desperate to land any sort of damage on her. But Pyrrha continued her spin, sweeping low again and avoiding the blast. She brought her blade into the side of Yang's leg, buckling her knee and throwing her off balance.

Pyrrha proceeded to land a flurry of blows on Yang faster than she could regain any semblance of a guard. Instead of trying to defend Yang turned to her constant fallback, anger. As the hits rained down she felt her semblance charge and grinned internally. This was exactly what she need to upset the balance. With one final hard stab that made Yang wince in pain, even through her aura, Pyrrha retreated several paces with a neat flip, rolling her blade back into spear form and raising her shield once more. Yang threw her arms out to her sides and bellowed out in rage. Pyrrha was making her look like a fool out here. Yang activated her semblance, eyes red and hair ablaze with auric fury. She charged directly at the other girl.

Yang extended her left elbow forward, pointing both fists behind her and fired off a round from each hand to accelerate her towards her target. Her feet had left the ground as she careened towards Pyrrha and reared back an angry fist. Yang screamed and lunged forward, bringing around a vicious cross punch meant to decimate Pyrrha's guard through brute force, but it never landed. Pyrrha rolled off to the side and brought her blade down directly on Yang's outstretched arm. The momentum of her charge was redirected at the ground and she went into a hard tumble. Yang felt dust rounds pound her back and sides as she rolled helplessly across the ground. She came to a stop facing the ceiling, the tip of a spear and a very concentrated and determined looking Pyrrha. There was a loud buzzer and Pyrrha relaxed her stance.

Pyrrha rolled her blade back along her back and holstered her shield. Yang shook her head to clear the last vestiges of her semblance induced fury from her thoughts and propped herself up on her elbows.

"That was a hell of a match Pyrrha." Yang offered from the ground. Pyrrha extended a hand to help her off the ground which Yang gratefully accepted, "Where was that performance in the woods?"

"Everyone has good days and bad days don't they?" Pyrrha tried to brush aside the praise but Yang knew she was just being modest. That was far beyond the difference between an off day and not. She had been literally untouchable out there. Yang spared a glance up at the aura read out screen. Pyrrha's was at one hundred percent and Yang's was well into the red at six percent. More startling however was the timer, forty-five seconds. That was all it took? "You may want to watch those committed attacks though. Your side and arm were dangerously exposed on that final leap." Pyrrha gave Yang a genuine smile alongside her advice.

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks." Yang disengaged her gauntlets and extended a friendly handshake. They shook hands and made their way back to their respective seats as Professor Goodwitch began lecturing on speed and versatility in battle. Yang was still running over the match in her head. Pyrrha hit so hard and so fast it was really incredible, they needed to train together more often.

"Oh wow, you were right Yang. That was fast. I tried to send a message to Ruby that you were fighting but it was over before I finished typing." Weiss perked her eyebrows in glee as color rushed to Yang's cheeks. "I wonder if Professor Goodwitch would mind having two extra matches to make up the time."

"I bet you wouldn't even last thirty seconds with her Snowflake. You're just too fragile, ya know?" Yang made zero effort to avoid bumping Weiss's legs as she scooted past. Blake lifted her legs well out of the way so Yang could make it by unimpeded, not wanting to get in between the two bickering teammates.

"Ow, hey watch it you brute." Weiss slapped at the back of Yang's legs as the big blonde sidled past Blake. Yang ignored the slap and plopped down by her partner.

"See what I mean? Way too fragile to handle a fight like that." Yang laughed out loud but quickly quieted herself when Blake shushed them. They were still in class after all. She settled back into her chair, hoping the next fight was a little more entertaining than her own so people might have something else to talk about after class. Yang, of course, got no such luck as the students called out were Sky Lark from Team CRDL and Perry Winkle from Team APCT. Those two were such slow, straightforward fighters that the round was sure to be both boring and long, like one of Professor Port's lectures.

The fight began and the two boys circled each other warily, neither making the first move to engage. Yang stretched both arms up above her head and stifled a yawn. There was a sharp jab at her side and Yang couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She knew who it was, but had no idea where it might lead.

"What's up Nora?" Yang lowered her arms and spoke in a low whisper, hoping to avoid Goodwitch's attention.

"You kinda got your butt kicked." Nora giggled quietly and Yang grinned.

"Yeah, yeah I did. That's Pyrrha for you though right?" Yang threw her arm over the seat behind Nora.

"Yeah. She kicks my butt too." Nora laughed again. There was a very pointed cough from Yang's other side. She rolled her eyes, removed her arm from behind the other girl and held one finger out to Nora to indicate she needed a second before swiveling her head around to face Weiss. The heiress didn't wait for Yang to mutter some sort of derisive comment and instead pointed up to the Professor who seemed to be paying more attention to them than to the still combatless fight beneath them. Yang shrugged her shoulders in apologetic embarrassment and tried to sink lower into her seat. Professor Goodwitch shook her head in disapproval and returned to watching the fight.

"So Ruby's pretty down huh?" Nora asked but Yang refused to look over again. She was not risking getting into any kind of trouble right now. "I was saying earlier, we should take her out like when we went out a couple weeks ago. You know, just for fun." Yang picked her head up a little at that and checked the Professor's attention quickly. She wasn't looking so she could spare a moment.

"She really doesn't like dancing and stuff though and she isn't old enough to drink yet. I really don't think she'd have a great time." Yang knew that would bum Nora out and was met with a more than expected sigh. "You know what we could do though? She was telling me she needs to get her hair redyed soon. Wanna have a salon day?" Nora's eyes went wide with excitement.

"Do I?" Nora screamed and drew the eyes of most of the class, including the combatants below. Perry stumbled on the floor beneath them, startled by her outburst just as he had moved to make his first attack. He tripped on his own feet and came crashing down to the ground, hopelessly left to Sky's mercy. The other boy brought his weapon down on Perry's back several times before he could extricate himself from the tangle of limbs and discarded weapons on the floor. Perry finally rolled to his feet but had managed to leave his weapon and shield on the ground. Sky charged forward and despite Perry's best efforts to dodge soon had his aura in the red. Professor Goodwitch signalled the end of the match with the buzzer and a sigh. Yang and Nora both tried to hide their faces as best they could while the Professor started in on a quick lecture about maintaining focus in combat and blocking out unwanted distractions. Yang was sure that more than one pointed glance came their way but was far too busy pretending to take notes to notice.

"Uhh yeah I do." Nora whispered from between her arms which were crossed in front of her face. Yang chuckled despite herself. Did Nora just not know when to quit?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - A much shorter chapter this time (the shortest in the whole story). It's probably mostly because this chapter was focused on the fight but by its very nature that had to be short and concise. It gets done everything it needs to though. Pyrrha and Yang got their rematch, Weiss and Yang continue to bicker and we have a wonderful day planned with Yang, Nora and Ruby. I'm sure that will go off without a hitch.
> 
> Ahh, also, just to quell any possible fears. 'Perry' will not be making any major appearances. I'm not one to do OC characters (at least not yet and not in this story). Perry and the rest Team APCT are just fillers. They are the sillouhettes, the people who never leave school uniform and stare blankly at the fights and professors from the seats around the main characters. I just wanted to give them some names for the sake of world building is all. Also, APCT is for Apricot, the team member Ruby saw in the hall before she and Jaune fought.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading. Please let me know what you thought.
> 
> -Zach


	22. Checking In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake is worried sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Blake sat through all of 's incredibly lengthy discussion on the nature of airborne Grimm and possible dangers of their varying sizes and abilities as quietly and controlled as she could. She was extremely careful in taking very meticulous notes so that Ruby would have something to review from this actually quite important lecture. Blake had never been one to blindly follow authority, obviously, and she understood that sometimes personal matters took precedence over public responsibilities like school or work. However, this was the second class today that Ruby had missed and there was no sign of her showing up any time soon.

It wasn't the missing classes that got to Blake as much as it was the reason. Ruby and Jaune had broken up, that much was evidently true. But hadn't Ruby said they were going to do their best to remain friends? That she and Jaune would try to move past it? So why was she literally hiding from him? Was her plan to lock herself in the dorm for the rest of the year? No, that was unacceptable. They had worked as a team to get Blake to stop running away from her problems, so now it was Blake's turn to help one of them, to help Ruby. She decided some time between the dangers of flocks of baby Nevermores and the obvious threats that Griffons posed that she would talk to Ruby between classes. Hopefully, she would finish quickly enough that she actually came to their third class with her.

"You're looking rather focused." Yang leaned over to Blake and whispered. She had just been responsible for a botched match in the last class, well Nora was really responsible but still, and she was talking again?

"I'm just worried about Ruby." Blake continued to take notes, not letting herself be distracted.

"Ahh, yeah, makes sense." Blake turned in time to catch the mischievous smirk on Yang's face, "I wouldn't be though. I bet she'll show up next class as happy as ever." Yang grinned confidently at Blake and she felt her own resolve waiver. Should she give Ruby space? Ruby had never shown an inability to recover from trauma before and she had dealt with much worse in her life than breaking up with Jaune, she had lost her mother for Oum's sake. Was Blake assuming too much in thinking that Ruby needed her help?

"I guess so yeah." Blake refocused herself on taking notes for their bubbly little team leader. Yang sighed and leaned back in her chair, paying attention but taking notes of any kind herself. The least Blake could do was ensure that Ruby's missed class time did not affect her scholastic performance overly much. The combat classes and technical weapons classes she wasn't worried about. Ruby was as good as it got when it came to _Crescent Rose_ , but classes like this and Professor Port's lecture course… she was barely any good at those when she did attend.

The rest of the lecture went as usual. Nora managed not to interrupt too many times and Dr. Oobleck even used Team RWBY's encounter with an airship sized Nevermore as an example on how to properly use coordinated team work against such an overwhelming opponent. That made Blake happy. The fight with the Nevermore was their very first action as a team and their performances that day had helped cement the other three girls as reliable team mates in her eyes. Also, Ruby's unwavering leadership and ability to instantly take charge of a team with such varying abilities had most likely been a huge deciding factor in her placement as leader of RWBY, a position Blake in no way envied. As class broke up and they all packed their things away Blake turned to her teammates.

"Any word from Ruby?" She looked nervously between the two of them. She hadn't received a message from her, but Yang was her sister and Weiss was her partner. Of course she would contact one of them first. Blake was a teammate at best, a roommate and former White Fang member at worst.

"No, she hasn't messaged me." Weiss never even looked up from her bags as she packed her many folders and papers away.

"Nope, nothin' yet." Yang leaned back in her chair and double checked her scroll to be sure, single folder tucked under her arm. Yang wasn't the type to focus very much on her studies but Blake still found it impressive that she didn't even bring a bag.

Blake lowered her eyes to the floor in thought. She really wanted to go check on Ruby but she probably wouldn't make it to class in time if she went all the way to the dorms. Why hadn't she realized that when she made her plan to go check on her? She really wasn't thinking straight about all of this so she took a moment to collect herself. She didn't want to go there and find that Ruby had already left, because then she would be the one missing class for no reason. It seemed equally as mortifying to message her, expressing her concern, and have Ruby reply that she was already headed to class and just hadn't felt up to the first two. So, Blake decided to trust Yang and head to their last shared class as a group.

Professor Port was leaning on the pedestal that held a large golden bust of himself and speaking with several other students when Teams RWBY and JNPR arrived for class. They arranged themselves just as they had the previous class, with Yang and Nora at the center and both sets of partners extending outward from there with Jaune at one end and the empty seat for Ruby at the far opposite. Blake glanced nervously about the room ,searching for any sign of their leader but found none. No high pitched giggles, no rushing of wind or flutter of rose petals. She sighed and turned to her partner.

"Do you think we should message her and ask what's up?" Yang turned from planning her salon day with Nora to answer Blake.

"Nah, with how boring Port's class is. Do you think she was really that motivated to come?" Yang laughed as if that would be enough to calm Blake's anxieties on the matter and returned to Nora. Blake looked down at her lap and fiddled with the edge of her book as she thought. If she left now she might as well miss class along with Ruby. Surely Weiss's notes would be sufficient to guide she and Ruby through Port's discussion but did she want to rely on Weiss in that way? Weiss was Ruby's partner after all, not hers.

"Weiss, if I go check on Ruby can we borrow your notes?" Blake turned hesitantly to Weiss who was already checking through her immaculate planner and preparing her overly large notebook for the class. She met Blake's expectant gaze with a curious one.

"Yeah I guess. But, you're really that concerned?" Weiss cocked her head to one side, letting her long, white ponytail fall over her shoulder.

"Uhh, yeah. I mean she's our team leader and everything right?" Blake was really stunned how unconcerned her other two teammates seemed to be.

"I guess, but she sort of deals with this on her own." Weiss shrugged her shoulders, "If you really think you should then yes, I will allow you to borrow my notes afterwards." Weiss begin writing for a moment and then stopped and turned to Blake, "What are you waiting for, go." Blake realized she hadn't started moving yet and quickly began packing up her things to leave, just as she scooted her chair back to leave their Professor began speaking.

"Good morning everyone. I know you are all dying to hear the end of the story I left off of at the end of last class so let me start without further ado." Port cleared his throat and jumped directly into another of his tales of bravery and valor without any hesitation, starting off basically where the bell had stopped him on the previous Friday. Blake sullenly tucked her chair back in and began unpacking her supplies to try her best to take meaningful notes for Ruby. The last thing she wanted to do now was draw attention to their team, and Ruby's absence, by leaving once the Professor had already started lecturing.

"She'll be fine Blake," Weiss whispered hoarsely from her spot at Blake's side, "Stop fretting about it so much. The last thing we need is both of you missing class because of that blonde headed idiot." Weiss cast a scornful glance down the row of students. "Jaune, I mean Jaune." she needlessly clarified and hurriedly returned to taking notes. What she was taking notes on Blake couldn't imagine, but her words helped reassure Blake all the same. She would make it through this class period and then use the lunch hour to go check on Ruby, maybe even grab her a cookie or two from the cafeteria to help cheer her up.

Professor Port actually managed to make it into a discussion on varied Grimm biology during their course that day. He covered some of the more distinct differences between average Grimm and their Alpha counterparts, including the rather terrifying Alpha Nevermores. Blake shuddered as she realized the inordinate focus on Nevermores today's lectures had taken. Fighting airborne enemies was terrifying to say the least and she sincerely hoped they didn't have to again any time soon. She was incredibly glad that she had stayed for class though and she would be sure to tell Ruby that she had missed possibly a once in a lifetime event, Port actually lecturing on the topic he was supposed to be teaching them and not just reciting stories. They packed up their items yet again and made to leave the classroom.

"I'm gonna go check on Ruby." Blake announced to the remaining half of her team. Yang went to protest but she cut her off, "If you're right and she's fine then I'll just bring her to lunch with me. I'm just worried."

"I was gonna say you might wanna take her a cookie or something, a peace offering ya know?" Yang said smugly once Blake had finished, happy to have subverted her attempt to predict what she would say. Blake smiled at her partner and trotted off for the cafeteria waving off her shoulder as she left. If she hurried she should be able to make it to the cafeteria before the lines all got too long.

She jogged over to the cafeteria and was glad to see that there were almost no students at the bakery. She made her way there, grabbed a modestly sized plate of cookies, two glasses of milk and headed for the exit, just to be stopped by a stern looking Professor Goodwitch.

"Now Blake, you know that the cafeteria is for lunch. Where would you be going with that?" Professor Goodwitch indicated the plate of milk and cookies with a rigid point of her riding crop.

"I was taking it to Ruby. She's still not feeling well." Blake tried to sound as convincing as possible, it was the truth after all.

"And the best food for recovering from illness is chocolate chip cookies?" The Professor asked incredulously.

"Well yeah, I mean not usually of course. But…" Blake trailed off, not wanting to contradict her professor so openly. "Have you met Ruby Professor? She doesn't recover like normal people." Blake laughed nervously, hoping against all rational thought that Professor Goodwitch would let her by.

"I see. Well if it will get her to come back to class then go ahead. We can't have team leaders missing out on courses while the rest of their team attends." Professor Goodwitch stepped to the side and allowed Blake to pass.

"Thank you, I'll make sure she's in class." Blake nodded her head in gratitude and hurried off towards the dorms. She saw Yang, Weiss and Team JNPR headed in as she left and would have waved had her hands not been full with Ruby's favorite comfort foods. Now that she was taking action, had a plan and somehow even managed to survive an encounter with Professor Goodwitch she was feeling rather good about this entire idea. Blake added a little more speed to her trot, wanting to reach Ruby as quickly as possible, but was still careful not to spill the cookies and milk everywhere. She reached the dorm and glanced up at their window. The big tree blocked most of it from this angle but the drawn curtains did an even better job. Hopefully Ruby had the light on and wasn't just sitting in the dark. Blake eased the door open with her waist and made her way up the steps to their door.

"Ruby?" Blake called out cautiously. It felt strange somehow, to be in the dorms in the middle of the day like this. There was no response and after a moment she called out again, "Ruby." She called louder this time and kicked at the door with her foot since her hands were otherwise occupied. Again there was no response, perhaps she wasn't in the room after all. Blake had to know for sure, so she turned around, set the tray down on the floor and fished her scroll out of her bag. She turned to get up but heard the door click open. "Oh hey Ruby, you are in there." Blake set her scroll on the tray and picked it up as she turned.

Ruby was there alright but what Blake saw was not encouraging at all. Her eyes were red and she looked like she had been crying. The lights were most definitely off and the curtains drawn tightly enough that the only light in the room was what bled through the curtains fabric. This left the entire dorm soaked in a muted reddish orange.

"Hey Blake," Ruby sniffled and rubbed at her runny nose. She sounded tired.

"Ruby, come here, come inside." Blake pushed the younger girl inside with the edge of the tray and closed the door behind them. Once the door was shut Blake realized just how dark their room was like this. She was certain that Ruby couldn't see very well, what without having Faunus eyes or anything. Blake set the tray of cookies down on the bookcase by the window and pulled Ruby over to her bunk. She sat them down on the edge and pulled Ruby's head against her shoulder in a gentle embrace

What had happened since this morning? When they all got up Ruby had showered and started to dress with the rest of them but then said she didn't quite feel up to sparring and would meet them in Oobleck's class. Blake figured she had spent the morning reading or something to try and get a little better hold of herself. When she didn't show for Oobleck's she started to worry more and even more so after Port's but she never expected this. Ruby appeared to have been crying all morning. Her school uniform was discarded on Weiss's bunk and she was wearing her pajamas and her hood. Blake glanced up and saw that her bed was also a mess, she should have come to check on her sooner.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to class," Ruby was quiet and she sounded guilty. Her voice was thick with emotion and her throat sounded raw like she hadn't just been crying but sobbing.

"No, no that's fine." Blake petted Ruby's head with her free hand and readjusted slightly on the bed. She couldn't stand to see Ruby this sad. She had helped her gather the courage to wind up in a relationship with Jaune so she felt at least somehow responsible for how she was now. "What's wrong though? You weren't like this yesterday."

Ruby was silent in response. Blake waited much longer than it should have taken Ruby to respond before speaking back up. She didn't want to make it feel like she was prying but sitting there in the dark with Ruby was even less comfortable than broaching her silence was.

"I mean, I thought you and Jaune's break up wasn't that bad right?" Blake started in quietly, she still felt a little uncomfortable being so direct. But, Blake wanted desperately for Ruby to meet her eyes so she could see what she was thinking. Ruby just kept looking at the floor.

Another stretch of silence was all Blake got. This was becoming unbearable and Blake started to think that perhaps Weiss had been right and Ruby would handle this better alone. She shifted uncomfortably, pulling away from Ruby slightly, suddenly feeling as if she was stifling the other girl.

"You broke up with him and you made up your mind and everything. So what's going on?" It was so unlike Ruby to not say anything. Usually the issue was getting her to be quiet for more than a few seconds at a time.

"Is it weird that I'm so young?" Ruby sniffled and refused to lift her eyes from the floor.

"What?" Blake wasn't sure that she hadn't missed something.

"Do you think it's weird that I'm so much younger than everyone else?" Ruby lifted her knees up to her chin and buried her face in her legs.

"No, not really." Blake pulled back a little further but left her hand on Ruby's back. Her cloak wasn't as soft as Blake thought it would be. It was actually rather coarse and rough under her hand. "You fight better than most of the students. You're even a leader Ruby, of course you should be here."

"No, I don't mean Huntress stuff. I mean like with everyone else. I'm so much younger than you and Weiss and everyone. They all probably think I'm just a little girl." Ruby finally looked at Blake, but, she wasn't crying again. She looked drained, like she was done crying.

"I don't think anyone sees you that way." Blake could understand Ruby feeling unsure about her age but that still didn't quite explain this reaction. "I know I don't."

"What if they do though? What if Jaune was the only one who didn't care and I messed that up?" Ruby's head fell back into her legs and realization dawned on Blake.

"Oh that's not true Ruby. Don't worry about that at all." Blake wanted to hug her again but realized that right now, when she felt like she was too young for everyone, that comforting her like a child might not be the best thing. She wanted her to know that there were other people out there that were interested in Ruby. She knew that for certain. "You'll find someone else, I'm sure of it."

"JNPR probably thinks I was like teasing Jaune or something don't they?" Ruby's shoulders slumped and Blake could see that without someone to talk to she had just been wallowing in all of this pity and self-doubt all day. Being alone is not what she needed right now and the fact that Blake had been right to come help her gave her a boost of confidence.

"Actually, they were really worried about you. Nora was even trying to get Yang to take you out dancing with them." Blake tried to laugh but the sound fell awkwardly into the still room's air. "Professor Goodwitch let me bring cookies and milk out of the cafeteria for you and I took notes in all our classes so you wouldn't fall behind. Everyone just wants you to be happy and crazy and Ruby again." Blake looped a single finger under Ruby's chin and lifted her eyes out of her lap. "It's only been one day and we all really miss you."

Ruby fell forward onto Blake and hugged her hard. Blake was thrown off by the suddenness of her gesture but hugged her back as soon as she recovered. They sat there for a moment, arms wrapped firmly around each other in the darkness. Blake felt comfortable holding Ruby and leaned down to rest her cheek against the top of Ruby's head.

"So do you want some cookies? Because I did have to get them past Goodwitch and there's no way I can eat them all myself." Blake asked quietly. Ruby pulled back and wiped at her nose one last time before giving Blake a small, sheepish smile.

"I think a cookie or two would really help." Ruby smiled out from behind her tear stained eyes and puffy cheeks, through her reddened face and hours of crying and it shined as bright as ever. Blake turned to the book case and grabbed the tray before she could be caught staring and offered it back to Ruby.

"Yeah, or five." Blake laughed as Ruby took a small handful of cookies all at once. Ruby giggled and put the first in her mouth. She had what looked to Blake like a rather difficult and practiced method of holding the individual cookies in between her fingers so she could take a bunch and still eat them one at a time and savor their flavor. Three cookies in Ruby took a second to drink some milk and clear her throat. Blake was staring purposefully at the curtain covered window to avoid staring at Ruby and was caught off guard when the younger girl cleared her throat.

"Blake?" Ruby was quiet again and Blake spun her head back around in worry. She was relieved to see that Ruby was still smiling and happy, but nervous for some reason. "Thank you. For coming to help me and everything."

"Of course Ruby. We're teammates and that's what-" Blake began to write off the compliment.

"No I mean. Look Yang didn't come. Weiss didn't come." Ruby gestured around at the empty room. "I didn't want you guys to know how much this all got to me so I really tried to hide it. But you still knew and you came for me."

"Really, they were worried too. I just couldn't help myself I guess." Blake was grateful for the darkness because it was helping hide the incredible blush she knew she must be sporting. She had just been worried about Ruby and wanted to come check on her. Granted her concerns had been completely justified but she still felt like she in no way deserved this type of praise.

"You're the best Blake." Ruby leaned forward and gave her another hug but she tipped Blake's glass of milk over and spilled it all over Blake's legs and the bed. Blake jumped up at the sudden cold sensation running down her thighs and let out a startled eep. "Oh Blake, sorry, sorry sorry." There was a flurry of rose petals as Ruby darted into the bathroom and back out again carrying one of their burnt orange Beacon Academy issued towels. Without hesitation Ruby fell to her knees and began dabbing at the milk on Blake's skirt and legs. "Ohh Blake I'm so sorry. I was just trying to say thank you and ahhh," Ruby was incredibly flustered as she tried to mop up the milk.

"It's okay," Blake couldn't help but laugh as she tried to push the little brunette away from her legs. The praise and the subsequent milk spilling was embarrassing enough, the last thing she needed right now was for Ruby to be feeling all over her legs like that. Blake gratefully took the towel from Ruby and began drying her own legs. "You know though, I think it's hopeless. I'm gonna have to change." Blake looked down at the milk splatters all over her lower half. It wouldn't stain or anything but she certainly couldn't go out like this.

"It's just so dark in here Blake I'm sorry." Ruby got up sullenly and moved over to the light switch. She flipped it up and sighed in relief. "That's better."

"You know how you can make it up to me?" Blake looked up from her soiled skirt to meet Ruby's now sparkling silver eyes. "You go wash your face and change and I'll change and we can go to class. All the boring classes are over and you don't have any more classes with Jaune today so-" Blake began to rattle off all the reasons she could think of that Ruby should get up and out of the room but her team leader cut her off.

"Okay," Ruby said more cheerfully than Blake expected, "But only because _you_ asked." Ruby walked over to Weiss's bed and scooped up her clothes from that morning. She headed to the bathroom and closed the door. Blake heard the sound of the sink starting to run and sighed in relief. Now if she could just change out of her clothes and get Ruby to go then this would all have been a success. She kicked off her shoes and worked her leggings and skirt off before leaning over to grab a fresh outfit from her dresser.

Blake heard the click of the bathroom door and jumped in surprise, how had Ruby washed her face and changed that fast? She held her skirt over herself to try and conserve at least a bit of her modesty and turned but the door was shut. She must have just overheard one of the cabinets while Ruby was grabbing a washcloth or something. Her Faunus hearing was incredibly helpful at times, but served to make her very jumpy at others. She glanced over at the window but it was still curtained and closed as well. They weren't on the first floor, but that didn't stop Blake from worrying about someone looking in their window.

She finished changing and set about taking the milk covered blanket off of her bed. In all honesty it had only gotten on the side a little but she had clean ones so it couldn't hurt to change it. She could not imagine Weiss's reaction if she found out that she was sleeping in blankets that milk had been spilt on. Weiss changed her sheets at least once a week as it was. Blake balled the dirty blanket up in the corner and unfurled a new one. She was just smoothing out one edge when Ruby emerged from the bathroom, looking fresh and clean but rather embarrassed as she shuffled across the dorm to Blake's side.

"Blake, you need to touch my ears." Ruby offered one side of her head and apparently her ear to Blake. Blake craned her head around the side, looking for some cut or sore.

"Why? Is something wrong with it?" Blake looked and looked but even with the lights on now she couldn't see anything the matter with Ruby's ear.

"No it's so we'll be even." Ruby's face went flush with embarrassment and she sort of head butted Blake in the shoulder, trying to offer her ear again. Blaek thought for just a moment before her meaning dawned on her, "I saw your butt Blake so you have to touch my ears." Ruby nearly shouted and threw her hands over her face to hide her bright red blush. Blake reached down nervously and rubbed Ruby's ear lobe between her thumb and forefinger.

"Uhh there you go Ruby."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Hopefully you remember that chapter otherwise that joke is gonna fall on pretty deaf ears. Ahh well. Blake and Ruby got some more cookie based bonding time and now they are officially even as they are one butt view and one ear touch each.
> 
> Hopefully the Fic is starting to take a turn here towards more what you might want. I know the break-up was rough, but break-ups are rough. The hardship there will make any eventual pay off even better won't it? I'd hope so.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think as you read. It's exciting to hear from you.
> 
> -Zach


	23. Quiet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Blake nearly ran out of Professor Port's classroom as the bell rang. It looked as if she had been itching to go the entire time, and not in the usual way that everyone was begging to be released from another of Professor Port's classes but like she actually had somewhere to be. Today's lecture had even been far more interesting than the Professor's usual stories of his own past. Today Professor Port had actually managed to lecture on Grimm Biology and Pyrrha had found it amazingly informative. She was always one to prepare before hand and liked having as much intel as possible going into her fights. She didn't appear invincible because she was so much more talented than everyone else but because she went at every fight with the same attitude and fought to win. She was gifted with incredible abilities as well, but, that alone could only have carried her so far.

She had slipped up once, against Yang in the forest. Pyrrha had assumed from watching her fight that Yang's fighting style was all flash and no substance and had been completely unprepared for the skilled close quarters combatant that the cheerful blonde girl presented on the battlefield. Add that to her incredibly powerful semblance and penchant for anger and Pyrrha had miscalculated in a dangerous way. So, not willing to take any chances Pyrrha had gone in full force this morning. She turned and saw the big blonde laughing, apparently at Weiss's expense, and smiled to herself. Yang had no idea that she never had a chance this morning, Pyrrha had won before the match had even started.

"Hey, ready to go?" Nora's voice pulled Pyrrha out of her thoughts, "It's lunch time Pyrrha come on." Nora physically pulled Pyrrha out of her seat and drug her off towards the classroom's entryway.

Pyrrha allowed herself to be pulled along up the stairs of the auditorium style classroom and listened in on the remaining half of Team RWBY. She didn't have to do much to hear them other than toon out Nora's overly loud voice as she went on and on about wanting to try riding an Alpha Nevermore. Weiss and Yang had been arguing more frequently lately, there was never much heat to their disputes and they didn't seem to end on bad terms. But still, it worried Pyrrha that two friends and teammates should disagree so often.

"She's always been like this. She'll be fine." Yang crossed her arms defiantly, "I know because I'm her big sister."

"Well maybe you haven't noticed how much she's changed. As her partner I don't get confused by who she was as a little girl. I can tell that Ruby is taking this all quite hard." Weiss levelled an accusatory finger at the big blonde who completely ignored it, "You don't want to admit that she's growing up."

"Of course she's growing up. I let her have a boyfriend at all, didn't I?" Yang uncrossed her arms and bared down on Weiss with a motherly fury, "But everything that happened just proves my point doesn't it?"

"Oh no, just because her first relationship didn't work out doesn't mean she isn't ready for them at all." Weiss wagged her finger in Yang's face, "How many relationships have you had exactly?"

"Hey you two." Nora called out as Team JNPR reached the top of the stairs to leave the classroom. Yang and Weiss had been arguing so loudly, Pyrrha wouldn't be surprised if everyone on campus had heard them discussing Ruby's rather personal matters. Weiss and Yang jumped a little at the sound of Nora's voice and lowered their hands, attempting to strike somewhat more natural poses and appear as if they hadn't just been screaming at one another.

"Hello Nora." Weiss regained her composure much more quickly than Yang. She applied a smile that Pyrrha knew all too well, that mask of indifference used to cover real emotions in front of others. Pyrrha felt a pang of sadness that Weiss still thought that look was necessary around them. Then she looked over to Jaune and realized she often wore the same mask around her own partner and team leader to hide her own affections. Pyrrha sighed to herself and turned back to the other two girls.

"Where are Ruby and Blake?" Pyrrha asked in her high sing songy voice, hoping that by asking such a straightforward question she would have them believe that their entire team, and most likely the entire class, had not overheard their argument.

"Oh Rubes wasn't feeling great this morning. Blake just went to check on her." Yang seemed to be fully recovered now and back in control of herself. She was smiling her usual huge smile and Pyrrha felt that it was genuine. Yang was just able to push her worries aside and allow herself to be happy when there was nothing she could do about whatever it was that was bothering her. That was definitely a talent that Pyrrha envied, as her natural proclivity was to worry and tire herself out over matters in which she had absolutely zero control.

"I see," Pyrrha nodded her head politely and checked herself as she felt that familiar false smile spreading across her lips. She wanted to be herself around her friends but had to constantly remind herself that she trusted them and didn't need to put up any walls.

"Should we go check on her? I think we should go check on her." Nora turned to march off down the hall. Weiss choked on a rebuttal, apparently not able to form a coherent reason as to why Nora should not go check on a sick friend.

"Nora," Ren's voice was flat and even despite the fact that he had grabbed her by the collar and was holding Nora back with a single hand. She flailed against him but his grip held as firm as a Beowulf's lockjaw. "If Ruby was too weak to come to class, she is probably to weak to play as well." Nora ceased her flailing and crossed her arms in a huff.

"Well yeah. I guess. Can we go get lunch then?" Nora turned back to the group, her disappointment lost in the promise of what she alone considered delicious cafeteria food.

"Yeah, I heard they have fried chicken today." Yang appeared just as excited as Pyrrha's teammate, maybe there were others that truly enjoyed the food they served. Ren released Nora's collar and she and Yang went tearing off down the hallway in search of the promised food.

"Honestly, I can't imagine getting so excited over deep fried poultry." Weiss shook her head. It was incredible to Pyrrha that Weiss was able to keep in fighting form when all she appeared to eat were salads, yogurt and the occasional small helping of meat.

"Well it isn't very healthy but it is at least high in protein." Pyrrha herself loved fried chicken, but had to limit how much of it she ate because it really wasn't the healthiest source of protein ever. "I think you would like it if you tried some. Perhaps just a few pieces cut into your salad?" Weiss cocked her head slightly to the side and seemed to consider the option.

"Why would I want my crisp, wonderful salad drenched in grease and oil from that monstrosity they call food?" Weiss turned on her heel and strut out of the classroom after Yang and Nora. Pyrrha watch rather sadly as the clacks of her heels receded down the hallway. Why was Weiss so distant from her entire team today? Was it because of what had happened between Jaune and Ruby? Surely Weiss didn't look down on their entire team just because the relationship between their leaders hadn't worked out.

"Pyrrha," Ren placed his hand gently on Pyrrha's shoulder so softly she barely even noticed, "I think Team RWBY is going through a tough time right now. We should just give them a little space." Pyrrha turned to look at her somber teammate and nodded her head. She supposed he was right. Ruby seemed to be handling the breakup much worse than Jaune and she was the youngest member of her team so the others certainly felt somewhat protective of her. This must be hard for them all, especially for Yang.

"You're right Ren," Pyrrha offered him a warm, genuine smile which he gladly returned. She saw Jaune over his shoulder and her smile dropped a little. Jaune had barely spoken a word today and he hadn't made any moves to drag them towards lunch even though she knew by this time that he must be starving. He was always hungry by lunch time, and he had gone on a run this morning of his own volition, he should be ravenous. "We should head to lunch as well. Perhaps we can still make it before the lines get too long." Pyrrha glanced around the classroom and saw that only Professor Port remained and he was apparently utilizing his lunch break to polish the bust of himself with a rag.

Upon entering Beacon's cafeteria Pyrrha's spirits fell considerably. The lines definitely were long already and she couldn't find either of their friends from Team RWBY anywhere in the hall, not to mention Nora who was never that hard to locate. She stepped into line along with Jaune and Ren, confident that they would hear Nora or some commotion she had caused before long and be rejoined with the other members of their group. They filed in behind some other students and stood patiently, waiting for the people in front of them to file forward.

"So Jaune," Pyrrha turned to her partner hoping to strike up a conversation. Jaune was staring off into the crowd absently, not searching for anyone or watching something, just staring. "Did you…" Pyrrha trailed off, uncertain of herself in front of such a detached person. "Did you enjoy Professor Port's lecture today?"

"Hmm?" Jaune lifted his eyes slightly and turned to her. He regarded her as if he had just noticed that she was with him at all. There was a pause for a moment as he thought before he answered, "It was cool that he actually talked about Grimm today I guess." Jaune sounded disinterested but his response was simply incredible to Pyrrha. Jaune was actually interested in the discussion of Grimm biology? Jaune was always falling asleep in class and complaining if Professor Port's stories weren't funny or exciting enough.

"Yes it was, wasn't it?" Pyrrha's smile grew substantially. Jaune was finally expressing an interest in some of his more serious Huntsman training. "I particularly liked the section on Alpha Nevermores. I never realized an airborne Grimm could be so heavily armored."

"At least we know it makes them slower." Ren commented from her side and Pyrrha jumped a little. Ren was so quiet and she had been so ecstatic to have Jaune interested in their conversation that she had nearly forgotten he was there. She cursed herself for the slip in focus.

"Oh yes, that will certainly make a difference in a battle. Nevermores are already so fast, it's nice to know we'll have a break there at least." Pyrrha turned slightly so that the three of them made a small triangle. She had to be sure that she in no way alienated Ren from the conversation just because he was quieter than most. She noticed over Jaune's shoulder that the line had moved and pointed.

"Jaune," she began but he understood what her hand meant and took a step backwards so their small triangle remained intact as they scooted forward. "I do hope we can have more lessons like that in the future and maybe not quite as many stories of Professor Port's past adventures." Pyrrha continued, hoping they could maintain this talk, which for their group was incredibly professional.

"Reeeenn," The voice came echoing out of the far side of the dining hall and Pyrrha sighed. That had lasted longer than she could have hoped, seeing as it had begun at all. But, of course, there had to be an end. "Oh Renny?" Nora's voice was closer now and Pyrrha assumed that Nora must know where to look for him.

"Yes Nora?" Ren turned as she emerged from a row of tables and a crowd of students to their side. She was bounding along happily with her arms outstretched towards her much calmer boyfriend.

"Ren, we have an idea." Nora grabbed him by both shoulders. Pyrrha looked around to try and see who 'we' indicated and noticed the mane of golden hair bobbing towards them through the crowd. Yang emerged and made her way over, taking a bite from the fried chicken breast she was carrying as she walked. "You have to come with the salon with us this Friday." Pyrrha tried to judge their intentions but Nora just seemed as excited as usual and Yang was unreadable through the chicken she was holding to her face.

"Why?" Ren held his small dyed section of hair out just slightly so he could see it and then dropped it back against his forehead, "My hair is in perfectly acceptable condition." That much was obvious, Ren kept his physical appearance immaculate, almost as much so as Weiss, and that included his hair which Pyrrha had seen him trimming himself on more than one occasion.

"Well duh," Nora laughed boisterously and pushed playfully at Ren's shoulders. "No, it's for Ruby. Yang and I are gonna take her and tell her that everything is gonna be okay and that she needs to come be friends with Jaune again." Nora turned and beamed radiantly at her leader before coming back to Ren. "But, if it's just two girls telling her she might not believe us so we need you Ren." Ren sighed lightly but smiled. "We need you to give her a man's opinion." Nora held Ren's arm up as if he was flexing his bicep.

"Okay, if you think I'm needed." Ren managed to say before Nora lifted him high into the air and spun in a circle, squealing with joy and screaming about the best trip to the hair salon ever.

"I guess that means it will be just you and I on Friday Jaune." Pyrrha regarded Jaune curiously, wondering what his response to alone time with her would be this close to his breakup. She would understand if he wanted some time to himself. She could always busy herself with some personal training or studying for one of their courses.

"We should get some training in then don't you think?" He slid both hands behind his head and glanced up at the ceiling high above them, "We can do the aura stuff in the room instead of the training room." Pyrrha felt like she was going to explode, she was so happy. Jaune wanted to spend their extra time together training? He was running in the mornings, paying attention in class and looking for extra time to train, on his aura no less. When had he become so committed to his Huntsman training? It didn't really matter to Pyrrha, as long as it stuck around.

"That would be splendid Jaune." Pyrrha felt her smile growing and nearly missed that it was finally their turn to grab their food. She would have missed it completely if Yang hadn't slid in front of her and begun loading another cafeteria tray with even more fried chicken.

Jaune turned and began loading his plate up with food as well. Though Pyrrha was happy to see that he had apparently taken some of her and Ren's nutritional advice to heart and was taking a much healthier looking meal than usual. She had been right in her earlier assumption though as he seemed to be taking much larger portions than usual.

"Hurray! Seconds!" Nora lunged forward to Yang's side and simply started eating the chicken directly off the bar. They didn't have to pay for the food so Pyrrha figured it was okay, but it did seem rather unseemly. That was Nora though and the only one who ever really mention her behavior was Weiss.

"Where is Weiss?" Jaune scooped a healthy serving of craisins onto his side salad and looked around at their gathered group as if for the first time. Pyrrha glanced around and noticed that the heiress was nowhere in sight which would explain the severe lack of scolding. Surely she was back at the table waiting for Nora and Yang to return. She wasn't the type to go storming around the place at lunch time screaming like they were.

"Well, she tried the chicken." Nora said bashfully, which wasn't an emotion Nora expressed often. That , combined with the thought of Weiss going anywhere near the food she had refused to even acknowledge as food a short while ago made Pyrrha worry, she looked to Yang for some kind of encouragement but found none.

"Hey, it isn't my fault I'm so convincing." Yang held a hand defensively to her chest. Just because the Ice Queen's fragile little stomach can't handle some good old fashioned chicken." Pyrrha began helping herself to some food as Jaune slid forward down the line.

"Wait what?" Jaune gained a sudden energy in his surprise. Ren filed in behind her and didn't appear to take much from their conversation, but she knew that he was listening intently to every word they all said.

"Yeah," Yang laughed nervously and moved her hand to rub abashedly at the back of her head, "She kinda might be in the bathroom." pyrrha jerked her head up from the food and met Yang's eyes in shock.

"Does she need any help? Should someone go in there?" Pyrrha looked around quickly, trying to find the nearest bathroom sign and hopefully the one where Weiss was currently suffering.

"Oh, no no Pyrrha it's not like that." Yang waved her hands dramatically in front of her to ward Pyrrha off. "I really don't think she'd want any 'help' right now." She made air quotes around the word help.

"Yeah, it's more the other end I think." Nora giggled and pointed not so subtly at her rear end, as if her meaning needed further clarification.

"Well, you should apologize to her when she is feeling well enough to join us. Weiss of all people must not handle indigestion well." Pyrrha tried her best to be stern with Yang but found it hard when she was smiling as big as she was.

"It's just chicken though. I think it's all in her head. If she would just loosen up a little." Yang sighed and moved away from the line, her tray now covered in her second round of food.

"I don't think being loose is the issue right now." Nora poked Yang in the ribs playfully and they both burst out laughing. The rest of Team JNPR finished making their plates and headed off after them back to the table.

"I think I will make a smoothie for her. Something to help her digest properly again." Ren said calmly, obviously having considered everything that had happened.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that Ren." Pyrrha smiled, remembering the dark green health smoothies that Ren occasionally made for them. Both Jaune and Nora balked at the thick drinks but Pyrrha was happy for them. They were incredibly nutritious and actually tasted quite good once you got past the texture and the fact that there were still small seeds floating in the mixture even after a substantial amount of time in the blender.

"Do you think she'll be okay for team training tonight? It would be a bummer to be down a person on our first night." Jaune turned and hefted a heavy tray in his hands. It was laden with more food than Pyrrha had ever seen him eat in a single sitting and he had two large water bottles as well. She was so proud of him.

"We're still going forward with the training? You don't think that RWBY may feel uncomfortable?" Pyrrha felt a little uncomfortable forcing Ruby back into that sort of interaction with Jaune so soon. Especially considering the fact that they might have to fight each other. Perhaps the sparring session could serve as some sort of catharsis for her though. It was possible that she could work out her frustrations in that manner.

"Yeah, we gotta keep training. No matter who shows up, we can figure out some kinda rotation or something I'm sure." Jaune nodded to her politely and carried his food off after Yang and Nora. Pyrrha watched him leave and wasn't sure how breaking up with Ruby had done this to him. But the new committed Jaune was something she could get used to, she just hoped his joyful smile returned sometime soon.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - I really enjoy writing Pyrrha's chapters. One part is because her thoughts are fun to go through and I really like the diction I've chosen for her. The other part is because I'm a terribly sappy fanboy and every time I write a Pyrrha chapter it's like she's still alive in some way.
> 
> Lots of plans getting made here. We have Salon Day plans expanding, Team Training in the new room from Ozpin and some extended Jaune and Pyrrha time together all coming up. That should also give you a (non sequential) outline of the upcoming chapters so you kind of know what to expect.
> 
> Hope you're still enjoying the story and thank you so very much for sticking with it this long. I wanted to also mention one faithful reader zachary2 whom I forgot to mention before because for some reason I do not get email notifications for their reviews. How could I forget though, they have my name. Props to a fellow ZACH.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading everyone.
> 
> -Zach


	24. New Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RWBY and JNPR get to try out their new room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The afternoon sun beat down and Nora was more than happy to finally be out of her stuffy school uniform and into her much more comfortable combat clothing. The skirt and nearly nonexistent sleeves were much more breathable than the layers of shirts and undershirts and jackets that they had to wear for classes everyday. She spun in a circle with her arms up in the air just to feel the light breeze whip around her sides.

"Aren't you excited Renny? We get to try out the new training room tonight? And Blake said Ruby is feeling better and she's gonna come and Yang said Weiss wasn't really that sick and she thinks she was just more embarrassed so she'll be there too. You know how Weiss is when she gets embarrassed so that means she'll be trying extra hard tonight. Ooooh I can't wait." Nora stopped spinning and felt herself lean involuntarily off to the side. She tried to regain her balance and focus on Ren, spinning had made her a little dizzier than she thought it would.

"Yes, it should be a lot of fun." Ren put a gentle hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Doesn't spinning the other way help you get un-dizzy?" Nora began spinning the other direction, "I think I have to spin even more though right? To balance it out." Together they continued to make their way towards the classrooms where their new training room was as Nora spun.

"Hey, uhh Ren, why is Nora spinning like that?" Jaune caught up behind them and looked rather concerned.

"So that she won't be dizzy." Ren nodded at Jaune and they continued on.

"Oh.. uhh… Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Jaune shook his head and matched their pace, "So did you hear from Team RWBY? Are they all gonna be able to make it?" Jaune slid his hands into the pockets on the front of his hoodie. Nora finally stopped spinning and for a second it felt like it had worked. Then she reeled off to the other side, tripped over the edge of the sidewalk and went tumbling into the grass.

"Yeah Jaune. They're all gonna be there." Nora lifted her hand from the ground to get his attention and it whirled around in her vision, "I'm gonna take a quick breather though." She let her hand fall loosely to her side and prayed to Oum that the clouds would stop whipping around so fast.

"So I thought that since the classrooms are a bit smaller that maybe we should do little matches and not full team combat tonight." Jaune regarded Ren rather seriously as they both took their seats on opposite sides of Nora.

"Guys, stop moving so much, it's not helping." Nora but her hands on the sides of her head to try and stop the movement.

"Sorry Nora," Ren turned his attention back to Jaune, "That would probably be best. Were you considering one on one matches?"

"Yeah, maybe. That or partner stuff." Jaune kicked his feet out in front of him and leaned back in the grass, "I think it would be cool to mix up the partners too, like you and me as partners or Pyrrha and Nora."

"Me and Pyrrha get to be on a team? We'll be invincible!" Nora pumped her fists into the air and immediately regretted it as the rush caused a whole new bout of dizziness to wash over her. She closed her eyes against the spinning and bit the inside of her cheek to try and focus on something.

"It'll just be nice. Since out in the field we might get split up into all kinds of pairs." Jaune looked between the two of them. It was like he wanted them to say he was right and it was a good idea.

"That sounds excellent Jaune." Pyrrha approached from the sidewalk. She had been in the gym still, trying to get in the workout she usually did after their training before hand so she could complete her morning run afterwards. She was afraid that the gym would close too early for her to finish if she didn't get it in before then.

"Oh hey Pyrrha. You think so?" Jaune patted a spot on the grass next to himself, beckoning her to join them.

"Oh yes. It will be wonderful to work on all of our different team work elements together. I know that Team RWBY has focused on that quite a lot already. Part of Ruby's Team Attack plan I believe." Pyrrha seated herself easily next to Jaune, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them against herself so she looked like red and gold egg with a bright smile. Nora sat up, the dizziness appearing to have finally left her in peace.

"He said we get to be partners Pyrrha." Nora pumped her fist in the air again, "Can I launch you at them like I do with Jaune?" For a second Nora thought she saw the ghost of fear or worry pass over Pyrrha's face but that was impossible. Pyrrha wasn't afraid of anything in combat.

"Uhh, I do believe we should practice that move before we try it in combat." Pyrrha tried to smile but Nora could tell that she didn't want to try the move without practice first.

"Okay, okay. But we have to try sometime. I mean you have a shield and that's how I do it with him already." Nora dropped her hands behind herself and stared up at the sun. The warmth felt fantastic against her skin and she really wished they could train outside today. As fun as using a classroom on their own would be, outside was always better.

"Alright we should get moving if we don't wanna be late guys." Jaune rolled forward to his feet and extended a hand to help Nora up as well. Nora grabbed it and yanked herself forward, nearly pulling Jaune down alongside her. He straightened himself and adjusted his chest plate slightly, making sure it was still centered. Ren and Pyrrha stood and they all headed back towards the classrooms.

"Jaune, have you talked to Ruby considering this new idea?" Ren was on Nora's far side so she walked a little slower so they could see each other while they talked.

"Uhh yeah, a little a while ago. You know before…" Jaune trailed off as the topic of the breakup came up and seemed to lose a little of the steam he had earlier.

"I'm sure that Team RWBY will think it's a wonderful idea." Pyrrha chimed from Jaune's far side, "They'll understand that the room is too small for everyone to fight all at once."

"It was actually, uhh it was actually her idea." Jaune looked at the ground as they walked, obviously embarrassed that they had been giving him the credit when it wasn't his plan. That wasn't really a big deal though, without Jaune they wouldn't have gotten the idea from Ruby so it was still kind of his.

"Well then I'm sure they'll be more than agreeable." Ren smiled politely at Jaune. The doors to the building were still open so they continued on inside. The class they had been given to use for training was immediately next door to Professor Port's classroom so they all knew their way inside. Yang and Weiss were waiting for them when they got there, leaning on the wall outside the door and talking amicably for once.

"Hey you two. Been waiting long?" Nora ran over to meet them and they stood. Weiss stepped away from Yang closer to the middle of the hall so she could greet Team JNPR.

"Good afternoon everyone." She waved happily to them all. She looked much happier than she had been earlier today and definitely better than when she had run off to the bathrooms in such a hurry. "No we haven't been waiting long. We've only been here for a few minutes actually." Jaune waved to them and walked forward to undo the lock with his scroll.

"Yeah, just waitin' on all of you. Ruby and Blake are gonna be here soon too. Blake went to go get her stuff out of the lockers and Ruby said she had to run back to the room for something." Yang pounded her fists together in anticipation, "You guys ready for this?"

"Oh yeah," Nora went in for the high five and Yang met her enthusiastically, "Jaune said they want us to split up into pairs and stuff since we can't really do team fights in the room. Me and Pyrrha are gonna wreck you." Nora sang out as she danced past Yang and into the room.

"Oh, we will see about that." Yang followed her in and the rest filed in behind them. Jaune flipped a few switches near the door and turned on the overhead lights. The room looked exactly like the sparring class they used in the mornings for Professor Goodwitch's class. Large sections of stadium seating, an open arena area with high walls to protect the observers a raised viewing area for the Professor and a huge display to monitor and display the combatant's aura levels during the fight.

"So, we're allowed to use the display screen and the arena but they said we've gotta stay out of the professor's spot up top," Jaune jerked his thumb up at the small observation area that Professor Goodwitch usually used to watch their bouts. "Other than that I guess we just have to remember to like shut the lights off when we leave."

"Oh yeah." Yang leaned down to tighten her boots, "Alright who's first?" She stood and flicked both wrists out and towards the ground, activating _Ember Celica_. The golden gauntlets extended into place around her fists with a series of clicks.

"Wouldn't you like to wait until Ruby and Blake are here?" Pyrrha offered from her spot on the ground where she was already ensuring her shin guards were properly fastened on.

"If we wait for them everywhere we go, we'll always be late. Despite Ruby's constant chatter, she is in fact almost always late." Weiss placed both hands on her hips, "I believe we can begin now and they should hopefully have arrived by the time our first round is finished."

"Yeah totally, we can go now." Yang headed down towards the arena below, "Unless anyone up there is too _chicken_." She snickered and turned away.

"Oh Yang, I swear." Weiss stomped one foot and clenched her hands in fists, "Stop bringing that up." She stomped down the stairs after her teammate in an angry huff.

"Okay well, I guess Ren and I can go first then." Jaune drew his blade and extended his shield.

"Oh," Pyrrha stood from fixing her armor, "Okay. Do your best you two. We will be here. Cheering you on." Pyrrha offered a small smile and sat in a nearby bench. Jaune and Ren hurried down the stairs to catch up to Weiss and Yang. Pyrrha pulled out her scroll and accessed the classroom's monitor, displaying the four aura bars. The fight began with a bang as Yang launched herself directly at Ren.

"So Pyrrha. What do you think we should do? I think you should jump in and get them off guard and the I'll come in and hit 'em once you get them off balance." Nora unfolded her massive hammer and held it above her head as if it weighed nothing.

"I supposed that would work. I assume we'll be facing Ruby and Blake, so we just need to watch out for Ruby's ranged attacks. I can deal with her in close combat." Pyrrha looked away from the battle to address Nora but immediately returned her attention to the fight.

Jaune was practically hiding under his shield as Yang managed to spar with both he and Ren simultaneously thanks to a constant stream of speed enhancing glyphs from Weiss. The aura drain on the heiress was obvious and Nora thought they might have a chance if one of them could take her out. But with Jaune hiding Ren had his hands full.

"Get her Jaune!" Nora yelled, hoping that some encouragement might get Jaune out from behind his shield. Caution was good and all in a real fight but he needed to strike back. This was only training anyway so the worst that could happen is he would lose the match. Jaune seemed to hear her because as soon as Yang darted back towards Ren to keep him off balance as well he lunged out from his defensive position and charged at her exposed backside.

"Hey guys, did I miss much?" Blake asked as she sat next to Pyrrha on the bench. She looked up and quickly noted the aura levels, seeing that Weiss and Jaune were already fairly low but Ren and Yang appeared to be ready for more.

"Oh no, this is the first fight." Nora giggled, "We thought it might be cool to switch up the partners but it looks like you guys already have a lot of practice like that."

"Yes, they're teamwork is truly remarkable. If you and Ruby click as well as them then Nora and I may have some trouble." Pyrrha laughed but never tore her eyes from the combat below.

"Are you kidding? We have to fight you two?" Blake sounded truly stunned. "No way," she laughed, "That's gonna be a crazy hard fight no matter what we do."

There was a loud bang that drew Nora and Blake's attention back to the fight below. Jaune went sailing across the arena and his shield went soaring up into the stands, stopped only by the translucent energy shield surrounding the combat area. Boy was Nora glad that Jaune had remembered to turn that on when they got here.

"Well it looks like we might have to do something else if Ruby doesn't show up soon." Nora joked as they watched the fight, "I don't know how long even Ren can last against Yang _and_ Weiss all on his own." Nora glanced up and saw that Weiss's aura was already very low, despite having been unscathed for most of the fight she had drained a considerable amount of power to speed Yang along.

Ren rolled under a committed jab from Yang and came up facing Weiss. He loosed a barrage of shells at her and leaped directly into the air to avoid Yang's next attack. Weiss raised a defensive glyph and Yang bellowed and jumped after Ren but she wasn't quite as fast as him, even with her glyph enhanced speed. Ren turned through the air and landed behind Weiss. He swung both pieces of _Storm Flower_ in a flurry of blows at her unguarded back. Weiss collapsed as her aura dipped into the red and she was out of the fight. Ren leapt off to the side and rolled to avoid Yang's furious strike as she came barreling down on top of him.

"I don't Nora. He seems to holding his own." Blake smiled. Nora was glad that Ren was doing so well. He hadn't much chance to showcase his abilities this semester, always going up against weaker opponents of not quite getting a chance to really fight since he was on the same team as she and Pyrrha. It was nice to see him really able to cut loose and show off his fighting prowess.

"Hey, uhh, sorry I'm late." Ruby was so quiet Nora barely heard her over the combat. She was in her combat gear, had _Crescent Rose_ folded across her back and was carrying...Zwei?

"Oh hello Ru-" Pyrrha turned from the combat but stopped short when she saw the dog. She shook her head to quickly regain her composure and continued. "Hello Ruby, don't worry at all. You're just in time to start your match. Zwei barked happily and Ruby sat, clutching him tightly in both arms. Blake stood and backed away several steps, moving to the other side of Nora and Pyrrha.

"Ruby, why did you bring him?" Blake raised an arm defensively in front of herself and Nora could swear that her bow folded down on her head like it was scared too but that had to be her imagination.

"Uhh? Oh I'm sorry Blake. I totally didn't think." Ruby stood and took a few steps away from Blake. Apparently she really didn't like dogs. "I just… He's been cooped up in the room alone all day. Someone usually comes after classes but we were all coming here. I was worried he might be lonely or freak out or something." Ruby lifted Zwei out in front of her and looked in his eyes. "You can behave though right?" She set him down in the aisle and moved back to sit down with them, though a bit further away now to give Blake a buffer. Blake sat down by Nora, leaving all three of them between her and the dog. Zwei barked once more and curled up on the floor.

There was a particularly loud explosion from the arena that drew all of their attention back to the fight they were supposed to be watching. Ren crumpled against the wall and Yang fell to her knees panting but pumped one fist in the air triumphantly. Nora checked the screen and saw that Yang's aura was well below half so Ren had apparently put up quite a fight. But Yang had even activated her semblance so her and Weiss's strategy had won them the day. No matter how hard Ren had fought he just wasn't able to overcome the amount of damage Yang had done early in the fight.

All four of them began the climb the stairs back to the others. They looked a little ragged and tired but were in high spirits. It had been a good match and they all seemed fairly pleased with the way it had come out. Jaune looked a little distracted as they approached but he was probably just upset he had lost first. He had only been training way harder for a day though, he couldn't expect to catch up that fast.

"Wooo, good fight guys." Nora called out as they reached them. She ran forward and wrapped Ren up in a big hug. He laughed slightly and smiled, trying his best to reach his arms around her as well despite the fact that she had them pinned to his sides.

"Yes, it was very enjoyable." Ren squeezed out through her iron grip and she set him down.

"Uhh why is Zwei here?" Yang looked down at the dog who was excitedly circling her legs.

"Oh, I brought him." Ruby said shyly. "I thought he might be lonely."

"Ruby, you can't just bring him all over the place. We aren't even really supposed to have him." Yang leaned down and patted Zwei's head affectionately.

"Oh no that's okay," Weiss swooped down and scooped the dog up off the floor. "We can watch him while you guys spar. Can't we little guy? Yes we can." Weiss trotted off towards an empty set of benches continuing to talk to the dog in her arms and scratch his ears lovingly.

"Alright." Nora pumped _Magnhild_ in the air again, "Let's fight already." She charged down the stairs without waiting for anyone to respond. It was her turn, Jaune and Ren already got to go first and she was more than a little tired of waiting.

She heard Pyrrha coming down behind her, metal armor clanking lightly with every step and the significantly softer footfalls of Blake and Ruby behind her. Alright, so the plan was to keep them close and hit them hard. Wasn't that always the plan?

They reached the floor and split into their two teams on opposite sides of the small arena. Ruby unfurled her massive scythe and swung it about her waist to loosen up her arms. Blake stretched both arms quickly over head and inserted a new magazine of dust rounds into her gun. Nora rolled her hammer back into it's ranged form and nodded to Pyrrha to show she was ready to go. Their aura meters appeared on the screen and a small beep indicated the start of the round.

Pyrrha charged in hard and fast, giving them little time to react. Blake darted in front of Ruby as she collapsed her scythe and caught Pyrrha's charge with her scabbard, she slashed out with her sword and backflipped out of the way of Pyrrha's counter, leaving a flaming copy of herself for Pyrrha to make contact with. Nora ducked and rolled to avoid the explosion she knew was coming and came up firing at Blake as she flipped through the air. Pyrrha rolled away, letting the shock wave carry her and left her shield up to catch several rounds from Ruby's rifle.

Nora unfurled _Magnhild_ into hammer mode and charged at Blake, planning to meet her right as she landed. She swung hard but Blake kicked back almost before she hit the ground and flew out of range. Nora let the momentum carry her in a circle until she faced Ruby and charged. If Blake was too quick to hit then the least she could was keep Ruby occupied while Pyrrha dealt with Blake.

Ruby saw Nora coming and spun _Crescent Rose_ back out into a scythe. She leapt just slightly and spun head over heels to bring the scythe down in Nora's path. Nora side stepped the strike and brought her hammer around to catch Ruby in the chest. There was a flurry of rose petals as Ruby dodged from midair using her semblance and landed beside Nora. She swung sideways with her scythe and caught Nora in the shoulder. Nora skidded across the floor of the arena and came to a stop by where Blake and Pyrrha were dueling.

Blake was doing an impressive job of holding her own against Pyrrha but it looked like she was pushing herself hard to do so. She left a series of clones as she dodged and dove around Pyrrha's blade. Ice clones and fire clones, slowing Pyrrha's swings and forcing her to dodge away from fiery dust explosions. Nora rolled back onto her feet as she finished her skid and charged at the pair dueling. She swung her hammer hard and finally connected with her opponent. The blow hit Blake hard as she didn't see it coming and sent her crashing into the nearby wall.

Ruby came rocketing over from where she had hit Nora and caught both she and Pyrrha in a wide swing. Pyrrha performed a side flip over the blade, clutching both arms tight to her sides but Nora was so busy watching Blake sail into the wall that she didn't see the strike coming until it was too late. She held her hammer out in front of her and caught the blow on the handle but the force was still enough to activate her aura shield to prevent her from getting hurt. She had let Ruby land two solid hits on her now and she could feel it.

Pyrrha charged at the little reaper and clashed her blade against the haft of Ruby's scythe. Nora recovered from the blow and went to join Pyrrha in the fray. Several rounds slammed into her back and spun around, surprised to see Blake still in fighting condition after a direct hit from _Magnhild_. She flipped her hammer back into a grenade launcher and fired several canisters at the other girl, hoping the explosions would be enough to knock her the rest of the way down. Unfortunately she was still quicker than her. Blake leapt into the air, cut one of the oncoming dust rounds in half and sent the shards flying off into empty section of arena behind her.

Nora backed up a few paces and spared a glance over to Pyrrha. She and Ruby were still battling fast and hard and it didn't look like she would be able to come to her aid anytime soon. She turned _Magnhild_ back into a hammer and prepared for Blake's charge. She caught the first two strikes on her handle and deflected the blades off to the side, spun the head around and forced Blake back. She spun around and brought the head down but Blake was gone, a wisp of shadow where she had been just moments before. Nora tightened her grip and swiveled her head to find her opponent. She was nowhere, had she gone to help Ruby? No it was still just her and Pyrrha over there. Then she felt the blow come from above. Blake landed behind her as she followed the overhead strike through.

Nora feel forward, taking her massive hammer with her. She rolled and spun around to face her but Blake was already gone again, another flaming clone in her place. Nora lifted her weapon in front of her to try and block some of the explosion but still felt the heat rake her sides and face. There was a strike at her arm and her grip loosened as her aura weakened. Another blow to her legs and she felt her legs buckle under the force. She raised her eyes to try and find Blake but was too late to get her hammer into a guard. _Gambol Shroud_ came tearing across her vision and then all Nora could see was the ground. She raised herself up just a little and watched as Blake tore across the arena to join Ruby against Pyrrha. She heard the buzzer but already knew what had happened. She had lost.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Oh boy, Grimm Eclipse is a lot of fun. I just got a chance to finally play the full version with two of my buds and ohh boy was that a blast. Then I realized it was four am and figured I should probably post the new chapter because I won't be up at any reasonable hour. So here you go, earlier than usual but still totally obeying the schedule.
> 
> Ruby finally leaves her room, Yang and Weiss get to fight together, Nora loses a round and Zwei makes an appearance outside of the dorm room. Fun chapter, not a whole lot happened but what did happen is pretty significant. I mean, Zwei left the dorm. That's a big deal right? Definitely life changing for the characters I think.
> 
> Sorry if there are a few more spelling errors or what not in this chapter. I usually give it one last read right before I publish it but due to Grimm Eclipse I was a little too tired to do so faithfully so please let me know if you find any glaring ones.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading. I hope you're still enjoying the story. Tuesday's chapter promises to be just as exciting.
> 
> -Zach


	25. All Grown Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Yang rolled over and stretched her arms out in a languid yawn. Practice last night had gone pretty late. After Nora lost to Blake Pyrrha had wrapped up the fight rather quickly. No one could believe that Blake took a hit from Nora and kept walking but it looked like she had done so just barely. Once she got to Pyrrha and Ruby the fight wrapped up rather quickly. Pyrrha took Blake out and Ruby was no match for her one on one, she was just too fast to even be touched by that huge scythe. They all ended up staying until almost nine running different combinations of pairs. Eventually they all agreed they had to go because they had classes the next day and homework to do for them. Pyrrha had apparently headed off for a run because she still had to work out even more. Yang had opted to head straight to bed.

She rolled over, right off the edge of her bed and landed lightly on her feet next to Blake's bunk. The previous night's activities appeared to have taken their toll on a certain kitty cat because Blake was still asleep. Yang never woke up before Blake and she wasn't about to let this opportunity slide by. She crept up to the edge of the mattress and bent down trying to hold her breath so as not to wake the incredibly sensitive girl. Yang slid her index finger slowly into her mouth and licked it all over. What better way to wake up than with a wet finger in your ear? She pulled it once she was satisfied with her work and prepared to dart her finger into Blake's human ear.

"I will eviscerate you if that finger comes anywhere near me." Blake said without rolling over, without opening her eyes, without even the slightest change in her breathing. When had she woken up?

"Aww you're no fun in the morning." Yang wiped her finger off on her shirt and stood back to her full height. Blake rolled over onto her back and peeked a single amber eye up at her partner.

"I don't care what time of day it is. I don't want your spit on me, ever." Blake closed her eye and rolled back over on her side, shielding her face from the still rising sun, "Now go take your hour long shower quietly." She waved a dismissive hand over her shoulder and Yang laughed to herself. Apparently the fight with Nora really had taken a lot out of Blake.

"You know you love me." Yang tossed at Blake's back before turning and heading for the shower. She stopped at the door and removed her sleep wear, stripping her pants and shirt off and leaving them by the door. She was just wearing a pair of underwear and stretched her arms up above her head with a yawn, glad to let her girls hang loose for a moment as she stretched. There was a rustling of blankets in the bed behind her and she turned to see if maybe RUby was waking up already.

What she did turn to see was that Weiss was sitting up in her bed, with her back against the headboard. Yang turned and Weiss stared and the shock caught both of them and prevented them from acting far longer than it should have. Yang spun back around and threw her arms across her chest, trying to cover whatever she could though even her large hands and arms did little to cover her even larger breasts.

"Good morning Weiss." Yang called out without turning back to face her at all. "Sleep well?" She kept her voice high and cheerful. The last thing she needed to do was let the prickly little heiress know that she was embarrassed at all by this turn of events.

"Uhh.. Yeah… Well I mean… I guess so." Weiss stumbled through her words, apparently the sight of Yang in all her glory had been just a bit too much for her. Yang relaxed as she realized the position of slight power she was in over Weiss at the moment. She dropped her hands calmly and turned back ever so slightly, making sure not to give Weiss a full look, but just enough of a glance. She realized now that she had already taken her pants off as well and made sure to lean on one leg and give Weiss a good view

"That's good," she smiled at the blushing, speechless heiress, "I'm gonna take a long hot shower. Would you wake Ruby up? We wouldn't want her to walk in on you again." Yang took two slow steps into the bathroom and closed the door behind her with a rather final sounding thunk.

She let out a held breath as the door closed behind her, blocking her off from the other girl. Her shoulders drooped back down and she slumped against the wall. Had she really just flaunted herself for Weiss like that? It wasn't like she was usually really embarrassed about her body as it was so why had she freaked out at first? Yang took a deep breath and stepped over to turn the shower on. She made sure it was as hot as it could get, slipped off her last remaining article of clothing and stepped into the stream of water.

Even on it's hottest setting the water only felt lukewarm to Yang. She knew from the others that it was actually very hot, but to her it just didn't compare. It was one thing she really missed about living at home. There she had convinced her dad to crank the water heater up a little. He and Ruby just used a little less hot water for their showers but she was able to get it plenty hot for her tastes. Here though, she just had to deal with what she had. Before long the bathroom was full of steam and she had begun the long, loving task of caring for her hair.

She went through more hair care products than the rest of the team combined and that was especially impressive considering she had Weiss's luxurious locks to contend with. Yang was certain that if she had less hair she could keep it as nice as Weiss kept hers. Or perhaps if she could afford the incredibly expensive product that the Schnee Dust Company Heiress threw about like it was the free stuff at a hotel. But, Yang was restricted to what her incredibly hardworking father could provide for her and Ruby as well as by the amount of time she had to spend babying her massive mane of hair. But, it was a labor of love and she wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

After she had thoroughly worked her hair through its entire course of care products and scrubbed her body clean Yang eased the shower off and stepped out into the steam filled bathroom. The mirror was absolutely useless at this point and she knew she needed extensive brushing anyways so she dried off as best she could, wrapped a large towel around herself that draped well past her waist and hips, grabbed a fresh towel to handle her hair and opened the door to the dorm. Steam billowed out past her and rushed out the open window into the cool morning. Weiss waved her hands dramatically in front of her face as if the steam was poisonous gas and made a show of averting her eyes from Yang's towel clad body.

"Shower is all your Blake," Yang announced with gusto as she emerged into the room. She completely ignored Weiss's over actions and headed for her dresser to throw on at least some sort of clothing before the slender little twig of a girl threw a fit. "Good morning Ruby." Yang leaned down by her sister who was staring out the window, "How ya doin'?"

Ruby sighed and blew a huff of air out that tossed her bangs up out of her face only for the red dyed tips to flutter back in front of her eyes once she stopped. Blake snuck by behind Yang and ducked into the bathroom with her towel and toiletries but without a word.

"That bad huh?" Yang clapped her on the back, "You just gotta distract yourself with something. Focus on your training, have a rebound, throw yourself at your studies, you know?" Yang continued over to her dresser and pulled out her undergarments for the day.

"Excuse me, a rebound?" Weiss was still sitting under her blankets as if she hadn't moved since seeing Yang's mostly naked body disappear into the shower almost an hour ago. "I think the last thing Ruby needs is a rebound."

"Yeah you're right Weiss." Yang didn't even have to look to know that threw her off. Yang admitting Weiss was right about something to do with Ruby? Blake would surely mark it down on the calendar to be brought up later. In all honesty, the last thing Ruby needed right now was another relationship, especially a superficial one. Ruby was the kind of girl to commit absolutely to her partner apparently and so what she needed was to get her confidence back. Yang slid her skirt and under shirt on.

"I knew you'd see my point eventually. What Ruby needs-" Weiss lifted a single demur finger and entered the tone of voice she always used when she began one of righteous tirades on what was true and proper and good.

"Can you guys not tell me what I need?" Ruby stood and turned around, cloak swirling around her ankles. She stormed out of the room and into the hallway, still wearing her pajamas and slammed the door behind her. Yang and Weiss exchanged a worried glance and Yang hurried out after her little sister.

She threw the door open and found Ruby standing just outside in the hallway, facing Team JNPR's door. Yang breathed a sigh of relief to know that she hadn't bolted away on a stream of rose petals. She closed the door cautiously behind her so they could have privacy, as strange as it was to think that closing themselves out of their bedroom gave them privacy.

"Ruby, I'm sorry." Yang started in but her sister didn't budge. Her arms were crossed and her hood was down. That meant she was angry not sad, angry Ruby was not often sailed territory for Yang and she was hesitant to breach her sister's outer shell of silence. "I know Weiss is sorry too." Yang hoped that she would just turn around and fold into her in a hug. Sad, in need of support Ruby she could do, that was something Yang knew how to handle. Ruby did spin around, but there was fury in her eyes. She lifted a finger and pointed it at Yang.

"I don't need you to coach me through every little thing." Ruby shook her finger in a terrible impression of Weiss. "I was really messed up about it, but Blake talked to me and I'm better now. I'm just not over it." Ruby raised her voice but Yang didn't feel any heat behind her words. They weren't even necessarily pointed at Yang, it was more like she thought she should be mad so she was playing the part but just wasn't very good at it. "I know you're my big sister Yang. I love you." Ruby's voice dropped in volume, "But I can handle this. I'm not a kid anymore." ruby's face softened and Yang sighed, hoping that was the end of that little show.

"I know Ruby, I know." Yang rolled her shoulders back in a long circle. "It's just hard. I've always been your big sister but you haven't always been grown up Ruby. It's new to me and I'm still getting used to it." this time it was Yang who leaned forward to hug Ruby. She wrapped her little sister up in her arms and didn't even care that it took Ruby a shocked moment to return the hug. Her little sister, the girl she had practically helped her father raise, Ruby Rose was really growing up and that was hard for Yang to come to terms with. She gave Ruby another squeeze and pulled away. "Now come on. Let's go back inside before someone sees us being all sappy." Yang put her arm around Ruby's shoulder and turned back to the door, Ruby smiled and they went back inside.

Blake was out of the shower now and was pulling on clothes in her corner behind the bed. Weiss was up but hadn't gone into the shower yet as it was Ruby's turn if they were to follow their usual order. Weiss shot Yang a concerned glance but she returned it with a wink. Weiss glanced as Ruby, saw her smile and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry Ruby. I didn't mean to sound the way I did." Weiss took a very small step forward. Yang moved back to her dresser to keep getting ready. She sat down on the edge of the bunk and started pulling on her leggings.

"It's okay," Ruby smiled from ear to ear, "I know you're just looking out for me. I'm just frustrated by the whole thing I guess." Ruby shrugged.

"Well get in the shower you dolt." Weiss let her face slip into an easier smile, "You're gonna make us late for class. Ruby nodded her head and moved off towards the bathroom. Weiss turned to Yang as soon as the door was shut, "Well that went better than I could have expected."

"Yeah, she's really just trying to handle it on her own. I mean, we still need to help her out and everything, but maybe just back off a little ya know?" Yang pulled her other legging up slowly and snapped it into place once it was all the way on. She was delighted to see Weiss's eyes jerk back up to hers at the noise.

"Uhh… Yeah, definitely." Weiss shook her head ever so slightly and moved around her bed to where Zwei usually slept. She leaned down to pet Zwei and probably to hide the deep shade of red creeping up her face. Yang chuckled to herself and fell backwards on the bed so she could see Blake, albeit upside down.

"She said you really helped her out the other day." Yang reached a hand back and poked Blake in her magnificent butt, just enough to get her attention. Blake turned her head slowly and looked down at Yang humorlessly.

"Did she really?" Blake asked, her voice as flat and even as ever.

"Oh yeah. Said you were a huge help and she wouldn't feel as good as she does about the whole thing if it wasn't for you." Yang offered Blake as genuine a smile as she could muster, "I guess you were totally right that she needed someone to come talk to her." Yang thought she saw a smile flicker across Blake's face but she turned back to the mirror and continued brushing her hair.

"Well then I'm glad I came and helped her." Blake spoke to the mirror, as if she was confirming the fact to herself as well as to Yang. Yang reached over and poked her in the side of the butt again to draw her attention once more.

"Thanks Blake. I wasn't paying enough attention to her and she was trying to hide it. So thank you." Yang waited for her to respond but she never turned.

"Your hair is really wet still, could you please get off my bed." Blake asked and eyed her through her reflection. Yang laughed wholeheartedly and kicked up to her feet, nearly grazing her head against her own bunk as she lurched to her feet.

"So you guys don't mind that we're going to the salon without you do you?" Yang glanced back and forth between her two teammates. She had honestly been so excited about setting it up with Nora it had even occurred to her to ask them to come as well. "I mean you're obviously more than welcome to come if you want. Weiss I won't even make you pay for everyone this time." Weiss's head shot up from where she was still crouching by the bedside. Her face was covered in dog fur and she looked like she may have been rubbing her face into Zwei's coat.

"Well good, because that was definitely a one time thing. Obviously." Weiss did her best to appear dignified, put after holding her best haughty face for less than a second she sneezed violently enough to startle Zwei up onto the bed.

"I'm okay Yang. They always wanna take off my bow and I can't really let them so…" Blake ran a single hand over one of her exposed Faunus ears. "I'll just keep cutting my hair here I guess."

"You know Blake, we could always go to a Faunes hair stylist sometime." Yang reached for her own brush and looked sadly at the amount of blonde hair stuck in between the bristles. No matter what she did, rushing always pulled hair out.

"Thanks Yang." Blake finally turned from the mirror, "Really it's okay though. I don't mind and it's better to avoid any possible attention." Blake set her brush down and reached for her bow, already going to bind her faunus heritage away for the day. It still made Yang upset that she didn't wear her ears proudly and especially that she didn't trust Team JNPR enough to let any of them know. Yang watched on sadly as Blake turned back to the mirror and fastened her little cloth mask in place over her ears, sealing her true self away for another day.

"I'm okay too Yang," Weiss called out stubbornly from her bed. She was trying desperately to pick the dog hair off of her nightgown, but seeing as Weiss was rubbing his back against the oversheet right next to her, progress was slow. Yang laughed as she watched the futile efforts and began brushing out her mane.

"I thought.. I thought we already figured that out." Yang stopped brushing for a moment and lifted a finger to her chin and tapped thoughtfully. "Yeah I said I didn't need you to pay." Yang held her finger up in revelation and resumed her hair care, "So I figured why else would she come to our terrible little peasant salon." Yang laced the final words with just enough sarcasm to irk Weiss out of her dog hair picking reverie.

"What was that?" Weiss dropped one last hair and it fluttered back to rest on her leg again. "I have no problem getting my hair done at the same place as you. Even if they don't carry my products, or any of the best brands at all and that girl didn't even know how to cut an Atlesian style. Did you see what she did to my hair?" Weiss grimaced in memory, "Okay, you're right. I do have a problem with that place. But so should you. They really just aren't up to the standards we should expect." The bathroom opened with a billow of steam and Ruby emerged, still scrubbing at her head with a towel. "Now if you'll excuse me." Weiss trotted serenely off to the bathroom as if nothing had just happened, chin held high and Zwei right at her heels. Zwei followed her into the bathroom as she shut the door.

"Good shower Ruby?" Yang asked without turning from her mirror.

"Oh yeah, it was nice. I-" Ruby was cut off by the door to the bathroom flying open and Zwei being forced out with a small, sad whimper.

"Zwei, no. Not in the bathroom." Weiss's voice carried out to all of them before the door swung shut again. It was all Yang could do to not drop the floor laughing, but she really had to finish brushing her hair or it would be an absolute mess all day. She returned to brushing her hair and caught Ruby's eye in the mirror.

"So, you're actually coming to class with us today right?" Yang asked as gently as she could. She didn't want to seem like she was trying to discipline Ruby or be her mom, especially in front of their teammates, but Ruby was their leader and her actions reflected on all of them so she really needed to get to class.

"Yeah," Ruby clenched her fists in determination, "I think I'm ready."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Hurray a Yang chapter. Naked Yang for Weiss and Bellabooty pokes for Yang. I'm sure that mornings in the RWBY dorm are super exciting, every single time. Especially if any one or more of them are interested in any of the others. Could you imagine? Crushing on someone and seeing them in and out of the shower every morning, toweling at their wet hair and clutching at a towel? That would be some kind of frustrating.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter and saw what was going on. This marks the literal half way point for the story in terms of chapters. It was a pretty fun one to write as well, as all of those with Yang heavily involved are. I was pretty close to done with Clubbin' when I wrote this one so it was fun to go back to silly Yang and not super serious, in a committed relationship to the only girl more explosive than her Yang.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, there will be another chapter on Thursday.
> 
> -Zach


	26. Normalcy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Ren caught the back of Nora's collar just as she lunged out towards Cardin Winchester yet again. She really had a grudge against that boy because of how he bullied others. Nora was not one to ever take abuse lying down and any bully's worst nightmare would be to try and pick on her or one of her friends. She talked about breaking Cardin's legs when she found out he was being rude to Jaune and picking on Velvet because she was a Faunus and everyone thought it was a joke. Ren knew better though, he knew that if he ever didn't catch Nora and restrain her from going after the poor boy that they would have to have a very long, uncomfortable talk with Headmaster Ozpin.

"Renny, come on." Nora pulled at his hand desperately trying to break his grip. Ren had a very practiced hold of the inside of her armor or the collar of her school uniform. In the first few days at Beacon, Ren had tried to hold her back and the clothing had simply torn to pieces under his hand. Ren had to spend that night silently reinforcing the neck lines of all of Nora's uniform shirts so that wouldn't happen again.

"Nora, no matter how much you hate him, he is a fellow student. You can't just beat him up." Ren pulled her back slightly, knowing that once he had told her no, she wouldn't go chasing after him. She understood why she couldn't, just sometimes she didn't really care and needed someone close to her to tell her no. Nora fell back into line and grabbed her tray off the counter where she had left it.

"You know he deserves it though." She pouted and began grabbing food, trying to look as sullen as possible but not really upset when faced with the prospect of some of her favorite foods. It was lunch time so there were no pancakes, but Nora was a big fan of pot roast as well and it seemed to do a decent job of cheering her back to her usual self. Ren looked up and down the line of friends that he and Nora were at the middle of. Jaune and Pyrrha were at the front, picking through the foods to find the healthiest options as Ren had suggested. Team RWBY was behind them, Yang at Nora's side, competing with her pile of food, Weiss and Blake bickering about Blake's choice of fish and how Weiss was certain it would make her breath smell later. Then Ruby down at the far end, she was incredibly quiet. Not just quiet for her but quiet for anyone, she may have spoken less words than himself today.

Ren had not replied to Nora and she had turned away to see if she or Yang was capable of getting more food onto a single plate. It was good that Nora had so much fun with their friends. In Ruby she had someone as spontaneous and energetic as her and in Yang she had found someone to keep up with her physically, a lifting partner and rival as well as someone that made her feel less bad about how much she ate compared to everyone else. Ren smiled as he watched the two and grabbed some more asparagus for himself.

"So, Ren. Does this meet your health food standards?" Pyrrha asked politely from his side. Ren replaced the tongs back in the tray of asparagus and turned to look at Pyrrha and Jaune's trays. They both had a substantial amount of dark green vegetables, two fruits a piece, some of the day's pot roast and a modest amount of bread. Ren noticed that Jaune was eating much more these days than he had been before. It must be a result of his increased training regimens with Pyrrha. That was good, being a huntsman took work and Jaune was finally putting it in.

"Yes, you two have learned much." Ren gave them both a warm smile and returned to stocking his plate. He was really very happy that his teammates had taken so much from him. When they became a team Jaune's eating habits were nearly as bad as Nora's which Ren had given up on long ago. He, of course, ate no where near as much as Nora but still gave absolutely zero thought to what he was eating. Pyrrha had a fairly well balanced diet as it was, she couldn't have been the champion she was otherwise. But, even she tended to focus more on red meats and starches leaving herself desperately lacking a truly balanced diet. He was glad that when he began offering his advice, she had told him how much better she felt herself performing after just a few weeks.

Once they had finished arranging their food, Ren followed Jaune over to a large enough section of empty tables for both Teams JNPR and RWBY to sit at. He looked around the cafeteria as they walked and breathed deep and heavy, reminding himself that here they were safe and at home here. Surrounded by fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses at an academy designed to train them into being the absolute best at defending the world from the terrors that were the Grimm. He seated himself comfortably with his team, feeling very much at ease here with his friends.

Once again, without a word the team arranged themselves so that Jaune and Ruby were as far apart from each other as possible while still being at the same table. Ren was seated directly across from Ruby and his entire team was stretched out to his side, Nora, Pyrrha and then Jaune. Team RWBY was similarly spread, with Ruby across from him, then Weiss, Yang and Blake at the far end with Blake and Jaune facing each other. They had all done this with the same unspoken cooperation that had given Ruby and Jaune seats with each other while they were dating. They all knew it was a sensitive time for them and didn't want to make it any more so by forcing them together. Ren was really glad that the people he spent all his time with were insightful and considerate in this way, it made things much easier.

"Alright, so what's the plan for team training?" Yang shoved a forkful of food into her mouth without hesitation. She and Nora were already plowing their way through their giant meals.

"Well, we can use the room again or since we haven't in a while, we could always go out to the wilderness again." Jaune held his fork up in the air with a few sprigs of asparagus on the end as he spoke.

"That would be nice. I like training outdoors where we can really move." Blake, usually so quiet during conversations like these, must have really wanted to train outdoors again for her to have voiced her opinion.

"I agree, even tournaments usually take place in an open air environment to allow greater freedom of movement. Training in a small room is very constricting to our techniques." Pyrrha had yet to begin eating. She usually waited until their initial conversations were over before she did so that she was never caught with a mouthful of food when she needed to speak.

"Well I guess that settles it then. Anyone opposed to training out in the wild again?" Jaune looked all around the table though Ren noticed that he never lingered very long at his end where Ruby was sitting. Apparently Jaune was still feeling uncomfortable about it and while they all focused on the fact that Ruby hadn't spoken with Jaune since their break-up, Jaune had not spoken with Ruby either.

"And where exactly are we going to train?" Weiss crossed her arms in her usual show of prideful indifference, "Not that anywhere out there would be much better. But I seem to remember someone," she very pointedly stared at Nora, "absolutely destroying our previous training grounds in the ruins.

"They were already ruins." Nora bellowed in self defense, "I was just making them even more ruin-y."

"Oh come on Princess. What are you? Scared to go back out in the woods and get a little dirty?" Yang nudged her in the side with her elbow and never stopped eating. Ren also noticed her wink in what could be considered a suggestive manner, but it most likely just more of Yang's usual humor.

"I am not," Weiss shot both fists down to her side, obviously upset by Yang's insinuations, "I just think we need to practice somewhere that properly prepares us for actual conflict." As she spoke Weiss remastered her own emotions and finished with her chin turned up and away from her blonde teammate.

"Well, in real combat against the Grimm we could be anywhere," Blake leaned around Yang's massive shoulders to catch Weiss's attention. "The world doesn't always give you a clean floor and a fair fight."

"Right, so gotta be prepared for anything they can throw at us." Yang threw an arm over her partner's shoulder with a grin. She was always so full of energy and optimistic about the world. Both she and her sister were. Ren looked across the table at Ruby who was sullenly poking at her food, not having really eaten anything yet. Ren cleared his throat rather pointedly and she glanced up at him.

Ruby stared at him for a long moment and he just stared back. He knew that his point had gotten across and that she knew exactly what she needed to do. So, he let her stare and come to terms with the facts herself and decide on a course of action. She looked at the back of Weiss's head as the heiress continued to argue with Blake and Yang about just how prissy she was and whether or not she was actually scared of dirt.

"Uhh… Weiss." Ruby attempted to broach Weiss's angry exterior with her voice. Weiss didn't respond at all, she just went off on Yang about wearing white because it complimented her light skin, not because she wanted to show just how perfectly spotless she could remain. "Weiss?" Ruby reached out and tapped her shoulder with a single finger. And tapped the irate heiress on the shoulder. Weiss jumped a little at the contact and turned to face Ruby, her anger with the other two immediately fading to speak with her partner.

"Yes?" Ren could see that Ruby's silence had been affecting everyone. She was usually second only to Nora in volume and her constant jabberings often held more meaning and intent than Nora's random jokes and observations. Ren spared Nora a glance as Ruby mustered the courage to actually address her partner and he saw that Nora was indeed watching the scene in front of them with a lot of attention. She was of course, also sneaking her hand across the table to steal a piece of freshly buttered bread from Yang's plate but her hands really did seem to act on their own sometimes.

"Yang and Nora wanted to take me to the salon, because well..." Ruby held her now fading red bangs out in front of her so Weiss could see what she meant, "I kind of need to." Ruby mumbled so quietly that Ren was sure only he and Weiss had heard since they were the closest. Weiss sighed audibly and pinched at the bridge of her nose in frustration though.

"Oh, right. You know we are waiting until the weekend right? We already told Jaune about your salon trip." Weiss turned back to face the rest of the group, who surely by now was starting to get some inkling of what Ruby had said. "As long as the team training doesn't interfere with their little trip to the Salon, then Ruby and I are okay with going outside." Nora's face lit up with excitement at both the renewed prospect of a day out with Ren, Ruby and Yang and because she had managed to take the bread off of Yang's plate before the blonde could react. She shoved the bread in her mouth with a grin as Yang tried to lunge across the table and grab it back. Nora leaned back and held her hands up and away from Yang so that she could the bread unperturbed. Yang decided to swipe Nora's entire plate as payment and began hungrily devouring her pot roast, much to Nora's chagrin.

"Oh yes," Pyrrha turned happily back to Jaune, "And we are still going to train tonight aren't we?" Jaune seemed a little blown away at the sudden response everyone was having. Usually these kinds of situations were handled by Ruby but as she was rather out of sorts right now they all appeared to be jumping to the other Team leader.

"Yeah, yeah." Jaune looked around, searching for the answer somewhere in the sea of students around them, "We can do Saturday then? Or maybe Sunday? How about Sunday so we can all finish everything else we need to do first?"

"Sunday would work." Ren leaned just far enough forward that Jaune could see him around Pyrrha and Nora. Jaune smiled, he always seemed to gain confidence from Ren's support, whether it was because Ren was slightly older or because he was the only other male on their team he did not know, but Ren tried to offer his support when it felt appropriate to help his leader.

"That is it." Yang bellowed and lunged across Ren's vision, arms outstretched towards Nora. They both went tumbling to the ground, taking their plates with them. There was a crash as the cutlery hit the floor and shattered, utensils scattered everywhere and food smashed under them as they rolled across the aisle and banged into the opposite row of tables.

Nora ended up on top, most likely through sheer luck as they tumbled and pumped both fists into the air declaring victory. Yang grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her off to the side and down towards the ground with a yelp. Ren looked back to the others at the table for some sort of explanation as to why this had happened. He had taken his eyes of off Nora for just a moment and now she was wrestling with maybe one of the only people that could beat her in an unarmed fight.

"I believe it has something to do with Nora squirting ketchup into Yang's hair." Blake said sullenly from her spot at the table. She did not seem overly concerned that her partner was smashing through the benches and tables of Beacon's cafeteria, chasing a giggling redhead.

"Ahh, of course." Ren shook his head sullenly and turned back to locate the two brawlers currently laying waste to the dining area. They had already covered quite a lot of ground and Nora was wielding an entire bench as a stand-in for _Magnhild_ as Yang pursued her, smashing and punching her way through the tables and other students with ease. Most everyone jumped out of their way, not wanting any part of whatever quarrel the two had.

That was until Professor Goodwitch arrived and put an immediate stop to it all with a snap of her riding crop. She flicked her arm outwards angrily and the bench went soaring out of Nora's grip and back to its spot on the other side of the cafeteria. She snapped her arm the other direction and all of the tables that Yang and Nora had displaced rolled and careened back into their spots. Her semblance was truly incredible and oddly suited to being the head of discipline at a school made for super strong, sometimes destructive teenagers like themselves.

Ren couldn't make Professor Goodwitch's reprimand from across the room, but he could very easily tell the tone. Her shoulders were hunched incredibly far up and seemed about to touch her ears. She continued using her riding crop like a baton, pointing at the wake of destruction the two had left behind them. Nora and Yang both stood with their heads down. He saw Yang hold out her hair at one point, most like trying to explain what had started it all but she dropped it again at a sharp retort from the Professor. They all watched on in silence as the two members of their teams were chewed out in front of most of the school. In fact it appeared that most of the student body was watching or trying to appear as if they weren't. Those two definitely knew how to make a scene out of themselves.

After some time they turned away from Professor Goodwitch and began a slow snaking path back to their table. They were stopping at every table they had upended and appeared to be apologizing to any students who still remained.

"Blake, did you hear what they said?" Weiss turned to her teammate curiously. It was strange that she would ask Blake. While the quiet girl did appear to have impeccable hearing, she was also the furthest from what had happened and Professor Goodwitch wasn't really one to yell at students; she was more of the quiet, stern, angry type.

"She went into them pretty hard. But, they aren't in trouble. She did make them apologize to everyone they disturbed though." Blake settled back into a more relaxed position in her seat. Had she really heard all of that? Perhaps she could read lips, or was just inferring based on what had happened and passing it off as if she had heard. Ren decided that he would have to remember just how observant she was.

Eventually, after making their rounds of apologies, Yang and Nora finally returned to their table. They both looked rather dejected but seemed amiable enough with each other. These two never seemed to be upset with one another when something like this happened, they were usually more upset with whatever authority figure was forced to make them stop. It seemed that was the case now as well.

"Oum, Goodwitch is so lame." Yang threw herself down next to Pyrrha, not even bothering to make her way around the table to sit with her team. Nora slumped into the spot between Yang and Ren in a similar huff.

"It's like she doesn't want us to have any fun." Nora crossed her arms and pouted like a small child, resting her arms on the table and her chin on her arms. Ren smiled to himself, she was absolutely adorable when she got herself so worked up. He would have to remember to mention this later to her, just how much he liked how blatantly she wore her emotions.

"Well, the two of you should be happy you weren't more seriously punished." Weiss crossed her arms in a very different manner, haughty and uptight as usual, "I mean honestly, Professor Goodwitch could have very well given you detention or forced you to clean and repair the cafeteria on your own. She was incredibly generous. Apologizing is the very least you two could do to make amends for veritably ruining everyone's lunches." Weiss's temple began to pulse with the absolute effort of talking that loudly, that sternly and for that long without stopping to breath. "Did you even consider the consequences before you leapt in Yang? No, there you went just hurling yourself into harm's way without a second thought. And Nora, ketchup in her hair? Really? Of all the things that you knew would push Yang's buttons just the wrong way. I just cannot believe you two." Weiss quickly turned away at the end of her tirade, most likely so that she could gulp hungrily at air without being overly obvious.

"Wow Weiss, I didn't realize you could do that too. I thought only Ruby could talk that long without breathing." Yang nudged Nora in the side with her elbow to get her to join in.

"Yeah have you two been practicing that together too in your training sessions?" Nora sat up, allowing the thought of being able to tease Weiss pull her out of her Professor Goodwitch inspired depression.

"I mean, I understand Ruby needs the lung capacity for when she's trying to drown herself in milk and cookies but dang." Yang put her hands on her hips and leaned back, "I'm impressed Ice Queen."

"Well you should be." Weiss turned back, having recovered her lungs and now fully back in control of her breathing and her emotions, "I will have you know that singing gave me excellent lung control."

"Oh Weiss, you sing?" Pyrrha clasped her hands together beneath her chin in joy. Her eyes lit up in honest enthusiasm and Ren wasn't sure how much of it was fake to try and steer the conversation away from another fire and ice argument and how much was actual, genuine excitement at the idea of having a fellow singer in the group.

"Yes, I do." Weiss stated with quite obvious pride. She held a single hand to her chest, slender fingers extended so just the tips of her finely manicured nails grazed her blouse. "I sang professionally several times before focusing more intensely on my Huntress training."

"Oh that is so amazing." Pyrrha nearly giggled with girlish delight and seemed to only barely be containing herself. "Weiss, can we sing together some time? I would absolutely love to be able to sing with you." Weiss seemed taken aback by the offer, perhaps she had not considered the fact that Pyrrha too had a reputable singing career. She had apparently never had to work at it very much, she just had a naturally silky smooth and rather sultry singing voice.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly be opposed. I mean under the right circumstances of course." Weiss stumbled a bit under the unknown information. "Pyrrha, do you…? Do you sing as well?" Weiss's holier than thou attitude slipped visibly in the presence of yet another of Pyrrha's many talents.

"Well, I'm sure that I'm nothing like you Weiss. I only sang a few times in the past. I performed for a few different promotional purposes, I sang for events held by close friends and just once after a tournament I was invited to do a solo piece at the Mistralian Concert Hall." Pyrrha blushed as she described her singing career. Although she had described everything faithfully, Ren knew from other conversations with her that she was being modest. The events she had performed at were all galas and balls put on by her sponsors, some of the largest corporations on Vale. Surely Weiss's father had been present for more than one of Pyrrha's performances.

"You performed at the Mistralian Concert Hall?" Weiss seemed struck by the news. The Concert Hall in Mistral was one of the largest and most widely acclaimed music venues on Remnant. It housed operas, full orchestras and large bands as well as choirs and the occasional, specially selected solo performances.

"No, no, no it really wasn't all that large of a deal. It was after I won the Mistral Regional Tournament for the third time. They invited me based on my combat prowess and my standing in the community of Mistral at the time. Honestly I was terribly afraid the entire time and I'm sure I sang just horribly." Pyrrha ducked her head down and blushed even further, she was obviously quite embarrassed she had even brought it up.

"Woohoo Princess, looks like Pyrrha's given you a little competition for fanciest girl around." Yang laughed and laughed at her teammate's expense. Ren glanced over and saw that even Ruby was smiling slightly, not even the awkwardness of being around Jaune enough to keep her mirth trapped inside. "That's like, your one thing. If she beats you at that too, then what are you gonna do?"

"Please, that is not my one thing." Weiss jutted her head out towards Yang mockingly, "I have far more talents than just 'being fancy'." She made exaggerated air quotes around the phrase and finished by sticking her tongue out in a very un-fancy manner.

"Yeah, like being Remnant's most boring roommate." Yang shot back across the table. Nora looked as if she wanted to join in on the teasing but at the same time wanted to stay as far away as possible else she incur either girl's wrath. "Oh I'm Weiss, I need to study, we need to sleep, you need to pick up your clothes, stop walking around naked." Yang mocked in a high sing-songy voice surely meant to imitate Weiss's own. Weiss blushed considerably at the final comment, though why Yang's nudity could embarrass her that much Ren could not place. Just as she seemed to recover herself the bell rang loud and clear across the room.

"Oh darn," Blake deadpanned as she slowly stood, "Now we'll never get to hear the end of this thrilling conversation." she took her tray and moved away slowly as both girls completely ignored her.

"This is not over Yang, you hear me?" Weiss stood quickly, lifting her tray with her.

"It never is with you is it Snow Flake? I'll see you back in the dorm, just try not to stare too long." Yang winked at the heiress one final time and literally strutted away, shaking her hips in dramatic fashion as she vanished into the sea of students. Weiss quickly turned her chin up and away with a huff and strode off in the opposite direction.

"That was…. Exciting." Pyrrha offered but was met only with silence from the rest of the group.

"At least Weiss isn't coming to the Salon with us. I don't think it would be as much fun if they were like that the whole time." Nora scooped all of her and Ren's trash and skipped off to the nearest trashcan.

"Pyrrha, I'll see you around five for our training?" Jaune had his things already in hand. He was often late to Professor Peach's class and she was a stickler for attendance so it was no surprise that he wanted to get going.

"That would be wonderful. I'll meet you in the gym?" Pyrrha stood and turned her absolute full attention to her partner and leader.

"Yeah, great see you then." Jaune turned to everyone else as a whole, "Bye guys. Have fun tonight." And with that he was off, dumping his garbage in a trashcan as he left.

"Ruby, we'll come pick you up when we're ready okay?" Ren turned back to the other leader who was still quietly sitting. She looked up when he said her name specifically and nodded.

Ren was worried about her, he had never seen her this quiet for this long before. Hopefully Yang and Nora were right and tonight's trip to the salon would be good for her, maybe even get her totally back on track and bring back the Ruby they all knew and loved. He could only hope.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Hurray, more shenanigans in the lunchroom. I feel like with that many super powered teenagers all in one room every day there would surely be many incidents like the food fight from volume 2. They should probably have a rather high powered staff member on permanent patrol duty just to ensure things never get too far out of hand.
> 
> Also, next chapter is the salon, so tomorrow. I promise. Also, it is only the first part of the Salon visit and clocks in over 6k words, so lots of fun to be had. Special teaser, you will be hearing from a character's Point of View you never have before….and Weiss isn't going. Have fun with that. You won't have to wait long though, because it comes out tomorrow.
> 
> Hope you're all still enjoying it. Please tell me what you think as you go, I love to hear from you and I reply to everyone, every time. If I miss yours feel free to slap me =)
> 
> -Zach


	27. Committed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Jaune grunted and strained as he forced the bar up again and eased it onto the rack above his chest. It nestled into the holders with a satisfying clink noise that rang out to accompany the sounds of other students also using the gym. He sat and shook his arms out to the sides, trying to force the tingling sensation out as he felt his aura push down his arms and begin repairing his muscles, strengthening them already. He had noticed it more and more as he worked out, after Pyrrha had unlocked his aura at initiation he could push himself harder and harder, letting the energy soothe muscle aches, repair torn tendons and ligaments when he went too hard, it allowed him to work out so much more than he had realized. He stood from the bench and moved to put another plate on each side of the bar.

He could bench around one hundred and fifty pounds when he got to Beacon. But, he wanted to catch up to the likes of Yang and even surpass her and Nora and maybe catch up with Yatsuhashi, though he realized that might not be possible. He ticked off the weights with his finger to make sure he had counted right, three plates to a side, that put him at two hundred and seventy now. He had been repping around one hundred and eighty for a while now but it was time to step it up a this went well then maybe this weekend he would step it up again. Jaune laid himself back down on the bench, took a couple quick breaths to psyche himself up and pushed the bar back into the air.

He strained against the weight and lowered it slowly to his chest and back up again. He tried to remember everything Pyrrha had been teaching him about proper technique. He didn't lock out his elbows at the top, he kept breathing, he left his feet flat on the floor. He pushed the bar up fast, almost all the way and then lowered it slowly until the bar nearly tapped his chest. He kept his grip solid and made sure the weight fell back into his arms and didn't strain against his thumbs or fingers. Pyrrha had told him time and time again how important it was to protect his hands since he was a swordsman. If his grip or fine motor skills ever failed him, he would have to change fighting styles completely.

Several more reps and he felt himself really starting to strain. But, this was his first time at two-seventy, of course it was hard. If it wasn't hard then what was the point? Just three more he told himself. He lifted the bar again and eased it back down, his arms started to shake as he approached his chest. Jaune gritted his teeth and pushed for all he was worth, he could feel the twitching muscles in his chest, in his arms but the bar seemed to hover there above his sternum and refuse to budge even another inch upwards.

He started to panic, the bar was going to crush him because he couldn't lift it. He wasn't wearing his chest plate, it restricted his range of motion and his bones were soft and squishy compared to the hard steel of the weights. Jaune the Huntsman in training was going to be killed by a weight, a big stupid weight. He gritted his teeth and felt the tendons on the side of his head begin to bulge. Jaune had to force his feet back down to the ground as they started to pick up from the effort and throw him off balance. He couldn't cry out for help because he knew as soon as he did the bar would plummet on top of him. So he resolved to just push and he pushed and pushed as hard as he could, the bar creeping closer and closer to him. Until a third hand grabbed the center of the weight and pulled it easily up and away, resting it on the rack above him with a resounding clunk. Jaune pushed as the bar ascended above him, trying to help as much as he could, even now he didn't want to feel useless, to be saved.

"Jaune are you okay?" Pyrrha fell to her knee at his side and placed a hand on the bench next to him. He groaned internally as he realized that she had once again come to his rescue. Jaune let his shaky arms fall to his sides, spent and useless. Almost immediately he felt the steady trickle of aura run down his veins and push into his exhausted, most likely injured muscles and begin to repair the damage there.

Jaune let out a heavy breath, somewhere between a sigh and a groan as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. He rested his hands on his knees and looked down at his lap in embarrassment and shame. He even had to be saved in the weight room. The whole reason he was here was to try and make himself better but he couldn't even do that right.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He threw on his best goofy smile in an attempt to convince her. "Thanks a lot. I think I might'a died." Jaune patted the bar behind him and tried to chuckle nervously but Pyrrha's eyes remained focused and serious. Their crystal clear emerald piercing right into him, she always saw past whatever he was trying to put up. Jaune rubbed absentmindedly at his right arm in preparation for the stream of reprimands and corrections he was sure was coming.

"Jaune, you have to be more careful. You know that if you asked I would have spotted for you." Pyrrha wasn't smiling, her lips were pressed into a thin line of concern that made Jaune sigh. Of course he had disappointed her again, he knew he needed to be a better partner for her but even when he tried his hardest, he always came up short. Jaune knew he was holding her back, if she had been paired with someone amazing like Weiss had wanted before initiation or really with anyone but him she would definitely be doing better than she was now. If she could spend the time she spent training him on something better for herself, like her own work or maybe even relaxation she would be better for it. But, she had to spend every second of her free time helping him catch up because he was a fraud.

Pyrrha began to rattle off instructions on proper weight lifting safety and telling Jaune that he needed to understand his own limitations and not push himself to the point of breaking. He let his gaze fall back to his lap as she counted off different ways he could improve this or that in his form. He was listening, but only half listening as he got lost in his own thoughs and let his mind wandered a little. He was always falling short of people's expectations. His family thought he would be a huntsman but he never had the abilities to compete. Apparently Ozpin expected him to be a leader, but the most he had really accomplished so far was managing not to fail his team miserably. Pyrrha expected him to grow and flourish under her incredible teaching and specially tailored training program and he was just managing to be slightly better than he was before. Ruby had expected him to be an amazing, caring, considerate boyfriend but he had just been clingy, creepy and pushed her too far too fast. Now, he had probably lost her completely and alienated the rest of her team as a result.

"Jaune, I know you're trying very hard to improve and I've been really proud of you the last few days. I mean, I was before, but you've really been committed since… well since this weekend." Pyrrha had moved to crouch in front of him so their heads and eyes were level. Those words hit home and pulled Jaune's eyes up to meet hers. She was proud of him? Not just this week but she had been before too? How could she be proud of him when he had been such an absolute failure so far? He couldn't even hold up his end in sparring matches, or take out hordes of Grimm on his own. Jaune couldn't even be left alone in the gym without hurting himself for Oum's sake. Sure he beat Cardin that one time, but Pyrrha beat entire teams single handedly, CRDL included.

"Why?" Jaune asked quietly and for a moment he thought Pyrrha hadn't heard him and decided it would be better to not repeat the question. She would probably just tell him he was being self-deprecating again and he needed to believe in himself more. Pyrrha was proud of him like a parent is proud of a toddler, he wasn't accomplishing anything yet, she was just happy he was trying.

"Why?" Pyrrha repeated his question back, as if for confirmation and Jaune's heart sank realizing she had heard him. "Jaune, because anyone else on Remnant would have just given up. They would have packed their bags and headed home after initiation. But you stayed on Jaune. You dealt with Cardin's harassment, you rose to the occasion and became our leader, you're working so hard to catch up where anyone else would have crumbled under the pressure." Pyrrha reached forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you because you refuse to quit Jaune."

Jaune's heart swelled with every example until he felt like he might burst. She was actually, legitimately proud of his progress and his attitude. Pyrrha Nikos, the most talented, fearsome, dedicated girl on campus had just said that she was proud of his resolve. Jaune stood up from the bench and Pyrrha mirrored his movement. She moved her hand once they were standing and Jaune balled up his fists in determination.

"What do we need to do partner?" he asked with confidence back in his voice. If Pyrrha was proud of his spirit, if his incredible partner believed in him, then he did too. He was going to double down on his routines even more. Jaune promised himself right there, staring into Pyrrha's glistening emerald eyes that he wasn't going to disappoint himself, Ozpin, his family , or Pyrrha. Not again.

"Well, first we need to rack your weights." Pyrrha slipped back into her coach voice easily, "It's irresponsible and rude to the other students to leave your equipment a mess." Jaune jumped at the criticism and hurried over to the bar to remove the plates he had put on earlier. It only took him a few seconds to move the weights off, on their own the forty-five pound discs were easy to move. He racked his weights, toweled off the equipment and gathered his water bottle and scroll from beneath the bench.

"Alright, ready to go." Jaune slung his small towel over his shoulder and threw his scroll into the loose pocket of his workout shorts. "What's next?" He had made up his mind and he was eager to be thrown into whatever was needed to follow through on that promise

"Well," Pyrrha put her hands on her hips, "What do you think you need to work on the most?" she glanced around the room where other students were lifting, stretching, pulling and pushing on all the various machines. "More strength training? Cardio? Sword Skills? Aura?"

"I honestly think I need to put more time into sword play." Jaune thought about it and that was definitely still his weakest area. Pyrrha's training had been amazing but his weapon was so simple and straightforward that to compete against others like her, Ren, Yang, Blake, even Weiss, he would need to be an absolute master of his weapon and Pyrrha was arguably one of the best sword wielders in the world. "I mean you've been great teaching me. But, I need to catch up a lot." Pyrrha laughed gently in response and waved his comment away.

"Everybody needs to improve. No one is ever done working Jaune. Come on." she stepped away towards the locker rooms where their gear was stashed and beckoned him to follow along. Jaune caught up and matched her pace as they entered the lockers together. Their lockers were on opposite sides of a pillar from each other, all of four of Team JNPR's were arranged in a little square. Nora and Pyrrha were on one side of the small pillar and Jaune and Ren on the other. This was done so that they could change as a team and still have separation of the genders for modesty's sake. Jaune though it was rather silly though, seeing as they shared a room anyways. Ren and Nora were dating so that shouldn't be that big of a deal and he and Pyrrha saw each other coming in and out of the shower in their dorm plenty. Plus, not everyone here at Beacon was interested in the opposite gender, so if they got put on the same side as each other then what were they supposed to do?

Jaune shrugged his shoulder, realizing there was really little they could do in the end because of how varied the teams were and all the different situations. He figured Ozpin must just assume they were all mature enough to handle things themselves. He opened his locker, threw his towel in and removed his jeans and hoodie. He began the short process of stripping off the soiled exercise clothes and getting himself combat ready, or at least as combat ready as sneakers and a worn sweater could be considered.

His gear didn't take long at all to put on and Jaune liked to think that he could get ready quicker in case of an emergency. He was almost always in his chest piece, only removing it for workouts, classes and occasionally on trips into Vale. His sword and shield took basically zero time to equip as he just had to grab them on his way out. Somehow though, Pyrrha and the others were always ready at the same time or even before him. They were just better at everything. He tried to hurry to strap his armor into place and swing the sword belt around his waist. He latched it on, tied his shoes and stepped around the pillar, fully expecting to find Pyrrha waiting patiently for him to finish.

Pyrrha was already wearing her shin plates, arm guard, chest plate and tiara, even her gorget was already in place around her slender neck. She had so much, complex armor to put on, how could she be ready as fast as him? The only piece she was still working on was the brilliant red sash around her waist. She was just tying it through the metal loop she used to hold it in place when his appearance from around the pillar caught her attention.

"Oh Jaune, are you ready to go?" She looked him quickly up and down as she finished tying the knot without looking. She didn't need to glance herself over to make sure she had everything, she knew she hadn't missed a single thing.

"Yep, I'm ready for whatever you've got in store for me." Jaune patted his shield and sword at his hip confidently. Pyrrha kept her eyes on him, looking him over once more to ensure that he was in fact, ready to go and hadn't forgotten something again, like the time he left his sword in his locker. She held her arms out towards her still open equipment locker and pulled her spear and shield into her hands with her semblance. They flew out of the locker and fell perfectly into place in her hands.

"Alright then, let's go."

* * *

 Jaune fell to the ground with a huff, landing squarely on his butt with his hands out behind him. Pyrrha rolled her spear onto her back and extended a hand to help him up. Jaune grudgingly accepted her offer of help and pulled himself to his feet quickly, wanting to show that he was ready to keep going. He stepped back and readied his weapons once more, running through everything he could think of to try and prepare for her attack. Shield up, sword back, shoulders straight, feet wide, knees bent, watch her weapons and her limbs not her face. Jaune focused on her blade as she rolled the weapon off her back and into her hand, preparing to go another round.

Jaune waited for her charge. His shield against her thin spear provided a solid defense and he needed to just get in a counter attack. He had never even hit Pyrrha before, he had gotten close but he had never touched her with his blade. It wasn't that he wanted to hurt her or prove he could best her. No, it's just that if he could get a touch on Pyrrha Nikos of all people then he would know that he was at least passable at this. He knew only passable because he knew she wasn't competing full out against him, she was training him.

He didn't have to wait long, Pyrrha knew he wouldn't come in first and there was no point in them circling each other. It wasn't like Jaune's guard was so good or unfamiliar that she needed to take time to discover an opening or decide on how to attack. Pyrrha was on him in two steps, closing the distance between them and bringing her spear around to meet his shield. Jaune raised his arm high and caught the shaft of the weapon right in the center, stopping its motion midair.

Pyrrha spun back around the opposite direction, hair whirling in a tight spiral around her as she twisted low and struck out with her shield to catch him in the ribs as she smoothly spun the weapon back from spear to sword. Jaune saw her coming and met the blow with the side of his blade. The force of the impact threw shivers up his arm but he gripped his sword tighter and brought his shield back in front of him to guard. Jaune let his stance slide back a step as Pyrrha stabbed forward with her blade. He took the blow and pushed it off to the side with his shield, letting the metal scrape along his guard, hoping to create an opening in her stance. He glanced up from her sword arm to her face to judge her reaction, she was as solid and steady as ever, not a hint of emotion in her eyes.

Jaune stabbed out with his blade in an attempt to nick Pyrrha in the side but his sword was deflected off to the side by a swift swing of her spear which he hadn't noticed her transform yet again.. Jaune was thrown off balance by the change in momentum and had to widen his stance to catch himself. He glanced at the ground for a split second to assure his footing but before he could bring his eyes back up he was sailing backwards through the air again, a sore spot on his chest where he assumed Pyrrha had just punched him in the chest with the rim of her buckler. His arms collapsed against the ground as he made contact and he fell all the way onto his back this time. Jaune groaned as he skidded across the floor of the combat room, his armor screeching against the hardened ground as he slid to a stop near the far wall.

"You have to keep your eyes on your opponent during combat Jaune. Be aware of your surroundings but don't constantly check them." Pyrrha sheathed her weapons once more and walked over to help Jaune up again. Jaune hurried to his feet and brushed himself off before she could get there so that she didn't have to help. He thought he saw her smile as he lifted off the ground and whacked at his legs to get any dust off, even though there wasn't any. But it had to be his imagination because she had just knocked him down him in all of two seconds. Why would she be smiling. "Use your peripherals to scan the area around you, don't turn away from your opponent. Keep track of the terrain as you move so that you don't have to check." Pyrrha reached him and folded her hands politely near her waist.

"I try, it's just hard sometimes. Like if I trip that's it right? So I need to know what's there." Jaune collapsed his shield and sheathed his sword when he saw that Pyrrha was making no moves to begin combat again.

"Jaune, look around." Pyrrha motioned around the small combat training room with a single hand and Jaune glanced around the incredibly nondescript, gray room. There was nothing of note, their water bottles, scrolls and towels in the corner by the door, a few windows set high into one side for natural light.

"Yeah?" Jaune turned back to her confused. He really had no idea what she was getting at as he looked around the room. The whole point of these training rooms was that there was nothing to give any fighter an advantage over any other. They were just for the most basic workouts and training possible.

"What do you see?" Pyrrha asked with incredible calm and patience. It blew Jaune away sometimes that Pyrrha could be so understanding of his lack of experience. Jaune looked around again to make sure he hadn't missed something. Was she going to point out some element of the terrain he could use to his advantage? No way, it was all just completely flat.

"Nothing, there's nothing in here, it's just flat." Jaune shrugged his shoulders in defeat. Whatever her lesson here was she was going to have to spell it out for him because he just wasn't getting it when she was being so vague.

"Exactly Jaune, there's nothing." Pyrrha held her hands out to indicate the room in general, "And you knew that before you looked around didn't you?" She leaned her head forward slightly, begging him to give the correct answer so she could make her point.

"Uhh, yeah." Jaune nodded, confident that he had known the room was empty before she had him look around. Of course it was empty, he had seen that as soon as they came in. "Yeah I knew it would be, plus I looked around when we got here to make sure no one forgot anything."

"So you didn't have to check your footing during our match just now. You already knew that the floor beneath you was flat, smooth and clear." Pyrrha pointed to the solid concrete ground at their feet. "You just have to be aware of your surroundings at all times and you won't need to check them. Take stock of your footing and the terrain around you at all times so if combat begins you don't have to bother with it." Pyrrha tilted her head off to the side just barely and smiled.

Jaune had to stop himself from gasping in realization at her point. He had known that the floor beneath him was clear because he had seen it before their fight began. He had only checked during the fight because he wasn't sure and he felt insecure about his fighting ability. But, he had already known what was there. She was completely right. If he had just trusted himself he wouldn't have looked down and he wouldn't have gotten hit. Well at least he might have seen it coming and been able to try and block it. He definitely still would have been hit eventually.

"Okay, I get it." Jaune smiled confidently and drew his weapon, ready to go again. Pyrrha grinned even wider and leapt backwards so they were a few paces apart. She drew her weapons and struck a ready pose.

* * *

After another hour or so of training, several more rounds of sparring, a plethora of new bruises for Jaune and a laundry list of pointers from Pyrrha, the partners stripped off their gear and made for the dorms. Pyrrha was back on her usual schedule, having recovered from the oversleeping incident, and had finished her entire routine before coming to get Jaune from the gym and even with his auric healing Jaune was just about beat to a pulp from sparring against his indomitable partner. They changed back into more casual clothes, grabbed their dirty gym outfits from earlier and headed for some overdue sleep.

"Thanks Pyrrha. I think training tonight went really well." Jaune hit the side of his leg lightly with his fist as they walked to try and loosen the muscles before they could tighten. If he could keep them loose for just another hour or so then they would heal before he slept and he wouldn't be sore at all in the morning. What was it Pyrrha had said made him sore? Some sort of acid or something and it was important to keep his muscles loose and eat plenty of protein to prevent the muscle aches. To get at both legs he had to pass his chest plate over to the other hand. Before he could sleep tonight he would still have to scrub it down and check all the straps to make sure it was in perfect condition just in case.

"Oh yes, it was splendid. You really are improving incredibly quickly." Pyrrha turned her head from the path to smile at Jaune. Even after all the work they had put in, the hours of full contact sparring, weight lifting, cardio, aura training and all the other work she put in on her own, she still looked fresh and ready to go. It was like she was headed to the gym, not away from it. Her ponytail was still perfectly kept, not frazzled and loose like Weiss's always looked when Team RWBY returned from training sessions. Pyrrha's skin was clean and clear, completely devoid of any scrapes, bruises or even smudges to show she had just been in an hours long fight. Jaune could swear she even still smelled like her perfume. How was that even possible? They had been working so hard, there's no way she hadn't been sweating that entire time. Was he really that easy of a partner to work with?

"You really think so? I still feel like I'm so far behind." Jaune pulled one arm across his chest with the other to try and stretch out the muscles in his shoulders. Hefting the heavy shield for that long really took its toll on his back. When he had started it was so bad some nights that he had to sleep on his stomach to let the muscles relax and he would still wake up so sore he couldn't cross his arms. Now he was strong enough that carrying his armor back wasn't even a laborious task. He used to wear it all the way back to the dorm because that was the easiest way to carry it. But now, he was able to heft it in one hand, using just the topmost back strap like a handle.

"Well you did start basically at step one Jaune. The rest of us have been training for years and years to get where we are. Yet, you are getting to the point where you can hold your own against some others." Pyrrha stopped and turned fully towards him. Jaune stopped and turned back around to face her. She had caught him off guard and he had carried forward another step or two past her, "That alone is amazing progress. You need to not doubt yourself Jaune, you have immense potential as a Huntsman."

Jaune felt himself flush at the praise. He knew that she was his partner and they were close and she was even his personal trainer, but hearing praise from someone as amazingly talented as Pyrrha still got to him every time. He simply couldn't believe that a girl who was literally in a league of her own would think positively of his meager abilities. She really was the greatest partner he could have ever dreamed of having. She began walking again and had just passed him when he finally responded.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune started just as she made it a pace or two away. He felt a little awkward so he spoke quietly and what he had meant to just start the sentence and get her attention back had come out sounding more like a question. Pyrrha turned back quickly, hands folded down just below her waist again and her eyes locked directly with his.

"Yes Jaune?" Pyrrha's voice was quieter now too. Gone was the stern, certain voice she used when instructing him. She sounded uncertain, nervous. Maybe she was more tired than she looked.

"You're the best partner ever." Jaune clapped a hand on her shoulder to reinforce his point. He wanted to make sure she understood how grateful he was for all the help she was always giving him. "Thank you so much. I just.. I could never have dreamed of being paired with someone as incredible as you and yet here we are."

"Yes Jaune, here we are." Pyrrha mumbled and they both turned to finish their trip to the dorms.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Jaune chapters are interesting to write. He's very insightful about some things but not about everything. He knows all about himself, his feelings and what he thinks, but outside of that…. Yeah he's just Jaune.
> 
> Some things happening here that are pretty exciting. There were some concerns early on about how Pyrrha might react to Jaune and Ruby breaking up and the reasons she did. Anyone who was in that line of thinking please let me know what you think now because we are finally getting more development on that storyline and I want to know what you think of where it's going.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading so far. Can't wait for the double chapter this weekend, Salon Day!
> 
> -Zach


	28. The Salon (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The salon was very well lit, small fluorescent bulbs set into the wall above every mirror. The workers kept the floor clear of hair with small brooms and moved the patrons through from the chairs where they cut their hair to chairs with large glass domes that roared and roared. She wasn't sure what those chairs did but they were loud. Some of the other people had little pits of soft metal wrapped around their hair and others had their hair wrapped around big pieces of plastic. It was all very confusing but it was supposed to be a fun day.

She looked around the small store while she waited for the lady who had seated her to return. She was pretty much right in the middle of the room, with three seats to her left and two to her right. They had said they would be right back but it had been five and a half minutes now, was that quick? She put her feet down and wiggled slightly in her chair to readjust and the whole chair swiveled. The sensation was so surprising that she pushed herself back into the chair. It stopped wiggling and she was now slightly off center from the mirror. From her new angle she could crane her neck around and see down the small hallway where her lady had gone. There was no one back there, but there were lot of other hallways. Where had she gone?

She leaned further back, craning her whole body and coming up out of her seat just slightly as she tried to look into one of the other hallways. That's when her lady came around a corner and headed straight back for her. She fell into her seat and crossed her hands over her lap and tried to appear as normal as possible. She reached one foot down and tapped the floor just slightly to swivel her chair back into the middle and then placed both feet right by each other on the foot rest hanging off the bottom of the chair.

"Hey honey, I'm sorry." her lady came and dropped several clippers and bottles onto the small counter under the mirror. She had a large black piece of plastic looking fabric as well. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. Were you looking for me?" The lady turned around from the small counter and had unfurled the fabric, it had two tiny stirps of velcro at the top that made a circle.

"Oh no. I was just looking around." She didn't want her lady to worry, it had been okay to wait. She hiccupped and covered her mouth as quickly as she could. She really did not like when that happened.

"Well that's good. I just had to grab a few things." Her lady moved around behind her and swung the big piece of fabric around her neck so it covered her chest and legs and draped off the sides of the chair. She tensed up at first, the fabric blocked her vision and she did not like not being able to see. But, then it fluttered down and covered her up. Her lady fastened the little velcro straps behind her neck and it was like she had a giant necklace on.

"Excuse me," she raised one hand from under the big cloth to grab her lady's attention. She was busy fixing things on a her rack of tools and arranging a few spare parts lying around. "What is this for?" She pointed down at the fabric necklace with the same hand.

"Oh, that's to keep all the hair from getting on you and your clothes." her lady had a big smile and she was showing almost all her teeth. That must mean she was happy that she had asked a question. She made sure she asked the question every time she came to get her hair cut because her lady always smiled when she did. "So what are we gonna do today?"

"Well, I am here to get my hair cut." she smiled broadly. If her lady thought she was going to throw her off with a question like that, well that was just silly. Her lady smiled big again and she knew she had given the right answer. She moved around behind her and lifted her red hair up in her hands, holding strands of it out to the sides.

"How much shorter do you want it? Do you want to get any colors or anything?" Her lady spun the chair around so she was looking away from the mirror and at her. "You have very nice hair, there's really a lot we could do with it." Her lady wasn't looking her in the eye while she spoke. She was looking at her hair, so she didn't respond. After a few moments her lady looked down and found her eyes. "You just wanna get a cut then? Okay, how much do I need to take off?"

"It has been fifty-two days since the last time that someone cut my hair. So, I need exactly two point two centimeters cut off please." She stated in the bright and cheery voice she liked to use when she wanted people to know that she was happy. Getting her hair cut was actually much more fun than it sounded at first. It didn't hurt and her lady was always so nice to her and talked about whatever she wanted to talk about.

"I think we can do that for you." Her lady spun the chair easily back around so she was facing the mirror again and grabbed some of her tools off the tool rack.

"Oh, thank you. It gets long enough in the front that it drifts in front of my eyes if I lean forward." She leaned forward to show her how much it got in the way of her vision. "That can make it a little bit harder to see and it isn't good if it happens while I'm fighting." She leaned back now that she had shown her. She knew that her lady liked her to keep her back against the back of the chair while she was working. She said it helped her do her work.

"We can definitely fix that. Now you just sit still and I'll be done in no time." Her lady grabbed a spray bottle first and made all of her hair wet, then used a comb and scissors to cut off almost exactly two point two centimeters just like she had asked her to. Her lady was always so good at this, it's why she had asked if they could get her every time she needed to get her hair cut.

The sound the scissors made when they were near her ears was louder than she had thought it would be so she did her best to try and listen to other things while her lady was cutting near her ears. She was listening to the people talking outside, not eavesdropping because that would be rude, but just listening to their voices. That was when she heard a very familiar voice, the voice of her bestest friend.

"Okay, you were right. This was a good idea." Ruby said to whoever she was with. Whoever they were, they must be very nice because Ruby sounded happy.

"See, I told you that chocolate covered bananas were good." The other voice was happy too, they must be one of Ruby's friends, maybe they would be her friend too. They were getting closer and she really, really hoped that they were coming here so she could say hi to Ruby. Her lady switched sides of her head and now the ear that was closer to Ruby was free to listen and see if they were coming here

"What are you gonna have them do for your hair? I need to get a little cut off and have them dye it again." Ruby got her hair cut too? This is why they were such good friends, maybe she should have them make her a hair a different color like Ruby's.

"I'm not letting their scissors anywhere near me," That was definitely Yang, Ruby's older sister. Plus if they were all talking about hair stuff then they were coming in here. She heard the tiny bell at the top of the door ring and jerked her head to the side to see if it was Ruby. Her lady made a very startled noise and she had to turn back to see if she was okay. She was holding a bent pair of scissors that looked like something must have hit them pretty hard.

"I'm okay. Give me just a second to grab some new scissors." her lady threw the broken pair into the trash can by her tool rack and went back down the long hallway with all the other hallways. Now she could go see Ruby instead of waiting. She got up and ran across the room to give Ruby a big hug like friends are supposed to.

"Ruby!" she called out her name as she made her way over to the front door. Ruby turned and saw her coming, she smiled big like Ruby always does and opened her arms to give her a hug.

"Penny." Ruby said her name too. She hugged Ruby and Ruby hugged back. She wanted to hug Ruby tighter but remembered that sometimes she hugged too hard and that it could hurt people, so she didn't. Ruby was tough but she was her friend and she didn't want to hurt her, even by accident.

"Are you here to get your hair cut too?" Penny already knew, but she didn't want Ruby to know that she had listened to their conversation outside so she asked her.

"Yeah, I have to get it re-dyed today too." Ruby held out the hair on the front of her head so Penny could see. It wasn't the same shade of red it had been before, it was much closer to black now so Penny could see why she would want to have it made red again.

"Hello everyone." Penny reminded herself that there were others as well and that she needed to say hi to everyone. There was Yang with her giant blonde hair and permanent grin, and there were two other people. One boy wearing all green clothes with black hair and just a tiny bit of pink in one strand. He was very quiet, he hadn't been talking outside or since they got in the store. Then there was one more girl, she had white and pink clothes and looked very happy. Best of all, she had hair exactly like Penny's, short and orange and absolutely perfect.

"Hey Penny," Yang's voice was as loud and cheerful as ever. She was grinning all across her face and seemed really glad they were there and that Penny was there too.

"Hello," the quiet boy nodded his head forward slowly. Penny didn't know what that meant but it seemed nice so she smiled for him to show that she was happy.

"Hiya," the redheaded girl waved over the top of her head like she was really far away but she was less than two meters away. Penny couldn't stop looking at her because it was like she was looking into a mirror.

"You uhh, you don't know everyone do you Penny?" Ruby asked and Penny jerked her attention back to her best friend.

"No. I do not. They all look very nice though." Penny decided that if they were friends with Ruby that they must be nice people because Ruby was such a wonderful person and that means they must be too.

"Well this is Ren," Ruby pointed to the quiet boy and he let his lips curve upwards into a small smile. Ren, that was a nice sounding name. "And this is Nora." Ruby pointed at the girl next to Ren, the one with the great hair that Penny was already sure she would like.

"Penny, you have to come back here and finish your haircut." Ciel called out from over by the chair where Penny had been having her hair cut before she ran over to say hi to Ruby. Penny looked down and realized that she was even still wearing the giant cloth necklace that kept her hair off her clothes when her lady cut it off. "We don't have very much time left to be here. We need to get home by the time we told your father."

The fact that Penny had to leave to go back home made her very sad. She wanted to spend time with her friend Ruby and all of her friends that she had brought. She was so lucky that they had come to the same place she was at the same time she was there. But now she had to leave already? That wasn't very lucky at all. Penny turned and waved to Ruby, but she knew that her face would tell Ruby she was sad about leaving. Ruby smiled and made words with her mouth without making noise she said "It's okay". Penny didn't know what she meant so she went back to her seat.

Her lady was waiting for her when she got back and had a brand new pair of scissors. Penny sat down in the chair and tried to look directly forward at the mirror but it was so hard when her friend Ruby was so close by. She kept darting her eyes off to the side so she could see them waiting there, sitting on the big black chairs by the front door.

"If you want we can spin you so you can watch them while I finish up. You're almost done anyway." Her lady offered quietly from her side. She probably did not want anyone else to hear because they might be jealous that she would do something different for Penny.

"Oh thank you, thank you." Penny tried to whisper but her voice came out louder than she meant to. Her lady didn't seem to mind as she twisted the chair off towards the door so that Penny could see what her friends were doing. She could also hear them much easier now since they were inside and the scissors weren't near her ears anymore.

"So are you just gonna have them like, wash your hair?" The bright orange haired girl named Nora asked Yang.

"Oh yeah, it's nice sometimes to come and have them do it for me. They charge more because of how much hair I have but it's totally worth it." Yang shook out her incredibly shiny, huge amount of blonde hair out over her shoulders. Penny glanced sideway in the mirror at her hair that hung far above her shoulders. Should she let her hair grow that long too? She could keep the front part short so she could still see for combat but let the back grow out like Yang's.

"You don't want hair like hers." her lady whispered in her ear again. This time it was probably because she didn't want Yang to hear her saying something bad about her hair. Penny could tell that Yang was very, very proud of her hair and it would probably hurt her feelings if someone said they didn't like it.

"Why not?" Penny asked without looking away from her own image in the mirror. Maybe if she let it grow out further she would look like Pyrrha Nikos. She was incredible at tournament fighting so having long hair must not be a problem for combat.

"Having that much hair is a lot of work really. And you look cute with short hair." Her lady patted her on the shoulder and moved around in front of her. Penny couldn't see Ruby and her other friends anymore but she knew that her lady had to look at all her hair one more time before she finished to make sure that she had not missed anything. This meant she was almost done now and that meant she could go spend some more time with Ruby.

"Is it all done?" Penny held her chin up and twisted her head off to both sides, showing her lady the wonderful work she had done. She never messed up and Penny's hair looked exactly right when she left so she was sure she had done a good job this time too.

"Yep, you're all done now." her lady leaned forward and unclasped the big cloth from Penny's neck and shook the hair out on the floor. It was interesting to see her bright orange hair on the ground next to everyone else's dark hair. There was some blonde hair too but it seemed like most people that got their hair cut here had dark hair like Ruby and Ren.

"Thank you so much." Penny stood up out of her chair very fast and smiled for her lady. She really liked coming here to get her hair cut and she wanted to make sure she knew that. "I had a really good time. You are very good at cutting hair." Penny ran her hands through her hair once to feel all the nice smooth new ends where it had just been cut.

"Not a problem honey. Now go spend some time with your friends." Her lady crossed her arms and nodded towards Ruby with her head to show Penny she knew that those were her friends. Usually when people crossed their arms they got really tense and it meant they were angry. But Penny had noticed that when her lady crossed her arms like that, she stayed loose and she was usually always happy and smiling too. Some people were very confusing to understand.

"I'll see you in as close to fifty days as my schedule allows." Penny smiled for her lady one more time and turned to walk over to Ruby. She let her smile go when she saw Ciel waiting for her.

"We are already running late Penny. It's time to go now." Ciel checked her watch again even though she had already said they were running late. Penny tried her best not to sigh because she didn't want Ciel to see how sad she was but a little got out anyways.

"Can't I stay for just a little bit longer?" Penny knew that they did not have anything to do when they got back. It was just that they had only said they were going to get her hair cut and they said they would be gone for one hour. That hour was up and they were not back yet which meant they were late. "What if we call Mr. Ironwood and tell him that we are spending time with some of my friends?"

"We aren't supposed to change the plans Penny." Ciel tapped her foot which Penny had asked her about one time and she told her it meant she was getting impatient. Penny didn't want her to be impatient because then she might get upset. But, she really wanted to spend more time with Ruby and her friends too.

"Hey Penny, are you gonna stay and hang out with us?" Yang walked over to where they were talking and put her hand on Ciel's shoulder. Yang was much bigger than Ciel and it was almost funny to see her stand next to her. Ciel was usually very intimidating to people because of serious she always was, but next to Yang she looked very small and fragile.

"We actually have to leave. I'm sorry Yang." Penny looked at the ground. She was sure that Yang was sad she could not stay. Yang had even come over to ask if she could so she must really want her to stay. Penny did not like to make her friends sad so she did not want to see Yang sad because of her.

"But Penny, Ruby really needs you today. She has had some bad things happen lately and today was to cheer her up and spend time with her friends." Yang did not sound that sad but she was saying that Ruby was and that was not okay. Ruby was Penny's best friend and she had to help if she was sad.

"Ciel, tell Mr Ironwood that I had to help another Huntress and that I will be back tonight. He said that it was okay for me to break the rules if I was helping a Huntress or Huntsman with something important." Penny lifted her eyes back to Ciel confidently. They only spent time together because Ciel had orders to stay with her, so if this was a situation where she could break the rules then it would be okay for Ciel to leave.

"Yeah, it's okay, we got her." Yang squeezed Ciel's shoulder and Penny could see her clothes rumple a little under Yang's hand. Yang had really big hands, that's probably why she used them when she fought.

"You have to be back before it's dark Penny." Ciel lifted Yang's hand off of her shoulder. "I will go tell General Ironwood about your change in plans. If I come back to get you I will bring a few of his men with me and you will have to come back."

"Hey, that sounds great. You go tell the General and we'll all be right here getting our hair done and stuff." Yang put both hands back on Ciel's shoulders and pushed her around in a small circle so she was facing the door out of the salon. Ciel walked away and out the door without another word. Once she was outside, Penny saw her pull out her scroll and make a call but she spoke too quietly for Penny to hear. It was okay though, Penny got to spend more time with Ruby and now she knew that she needed her help too.

"Thank you Yang." Penny turned back to Yang and smiled, "I didn't think I would be able to stay but you convinced her."

"No problem Penny. Now come here, Ruby needs to see you." Yang moved to Penny's side in one quick motion and dropped her arm over Penny's shoulder. She applied a slight pressure to Penny's back and guided her over to where Ruby was still sitting. Penny checked out the window again but Ciel had left now.

"Ruby, friend. Yang told me that you needed to be cheered up." Penny sat next to Ruby on the large black couch. The cushion sank in where she sat and Ruby slid just slightly towards her because of the dent she made, "So here I am. What do I need to do?"

"You're already doing it Penny." Ruby leaned over and gave Penny a one armed hug which made her very happy. Hugs are how friends showed each other they were happy to be around each other. Plus, Ruby had said she was already making her happy so Penny would just keep spending time with her and hopefully it would help.

"See, you just had to get out of that school." Nora was saying that Ruby had been sad at school, but that couldn't be it could it? No, Ruby loved being a Huntress so there had to be something else that had been making her sad and it just happened to be at the school. Penny tried to see how everyone else was to figure it out. Nora was over by Ren, they were also sharing a couch and holding hands in Ren's lap. They both looked very happy to be with each other like that. Yang was over talking to one of the Salon ladies, probably telling them that no scissors were to come anywhere near her hair.

"But what happened Ruby? Why were you sad?" Penny was worried that if Ruby went back to the school without solving her problem that she might just get sad again. Ruby's smile dropped a little when Penny asked, probably because she was thinking about what made her sad. Penny hoped that she could cheer her up so it was worth it.

"Well, I was dating a boy at school named Jaune." Ruby looked down at her lap and spun her fingers around each other in a little circle. Penny had never seen her do that before and she wondered what it meant. "And now we aren't dating anymore and I can't really talk to him because it reminds me that we aren't dating anymore." Some boy had broken Ruby's heart?

Penny stood up quickly from her seat on the couch and tensed her arms.

"Is he at school now Ruby? I'll go deal with him so you don't have to be reminded anymore." Penny turned to the door and made to leave but Ruby grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"No Penny don't," Ruby sounded worried. Penny heard Nora laughing and she realized they might be worried about her fighting this Jaune boy because he was a Huntsman in training like them at Beacon.

"Don't worry Ruby, I'm combat ready." Penny held one arm up in front of her and clenched a fist tight so Ruby could see how strong she was. Ruby didn't let go of her arm though and had that same look on her face like she was worried someone might get hurt.

"No," Nora said in between laughs, "We're sure you are Penny. But, Jaune isn't. You would probably hurt him." Nora buckled over laughing into Ren's lap. The other boy just patted her head as she continued to cackle loud enough to draw the attention of other customers.

"Oh.." Penny relaxed a little as she realized that none of her friends were laughing at her expense, "What do you want to do then Ruby? Do you need to see him?" Penny moved slowly to give Ruby time to think and sat back next to her.

"Kind of.. Well," Ruby glanced around the room, at Yang who was still talking to the employees, then Ren and Nora who was just recovering from her laughing fit and finally back to Penny. "Yeah I definitely have to see him. He lives across the hall from us and he's Ren and Nora's team leader and Pyrrha's partner and she's my friend too."

"Okay, so you want to be able to not be sad anymore when you're around him right?" Penny cocked her head off to one side in a way she had noticed Ruby did when she was thinking very hard. She hoped that if she did it Ruby would feel more comfortable.

"Yeah, yeah that's pretty much it Penny." Ruby voice was a little strained and she sounded like maybe she was tired. Maybe she had been worrying so much about this whole situation that she hadn't been sleeping well. Penny had to fix this for her friend.

"You said you were sad when you saw him because it reminded you that you weren't dating anymore right?" Penny looked over at Ren and Nora who were sitting normally now but still holding hand. They looked like they were dating and they were very happy, dating must be like being absolutely the best friends ever if they made each other that happy. "So would it be better if you were dating someone else?"

"Well...Uhh…" Ruby stumbled backwards a little. Penny moved to catch her so she did not fall but she recovered on her own. Of course she did, Ruby was a very talented Huntress and had probably just lost her balance for a moment. "I mean I guess so."

"Yeah see Ruby, even Penny thinks you should get back out there. I told you that's the right move." Yang had returned from speaking with the Salon lady and took the seat between Ruby and Penny's couch and the couch where Nora and Ren were sitting. "Oh, they said it will be just a little longer. They had a surprise customer come in earlier that bumped everyone just a little off schedule."

"But Ruby doesn't need a rebound, she needs a serious relationship. Right Ruby?" Nora was moving so much in her seat it was almost like she was bouncing. Penny was really surprised that there was someone with more energy than Ruby.

"Yeah, I don't wanna just date someone random. Plus, I don't really know anyone else. I mean I know you guys and my team." Ruby looked from Ren and Nora to Yang. "I would want to date someone that I was already friends with I guess." Penny had an idea of how she could solve Ruby's problem and get to spend more time with her.

"What if you dated me Ruby?" Penny reached down and grabbed Ruby's hand as softly as she could. She wanted to hold her hand the way that Ren was holding Nora's hand. Because she thought that if they were dating that's what they should do, right? Ruby looked down at Penny's hand then quickly back up at Penny. She was so excited her whole face was red like her cloak.

"Penny, I don't know if-" Ruby looked back down at their hands and then back up at Penny. Nora wasn't laughing anymore and Yang looked like she was listening really closely to what they were saying. Her exploding gloves probably made it very hard for her to hear other things. "I don't think I'm ready to date anyone yet." Ruby reached out with her other hand and grabbed Penny's in between both of hers. "But thank you so much, that's so sweet of you to offer." Ruby leaned forward and hugged Penny very tight.

"I just thought it would help you be happier again." Penny smiled for Ruby. She was upset that her idea had not worked. But Ruby was her friend, she would have to think of something else to help her.

"Well, uhh Ruby." Yang coughed a little bit to clear her throat before she kept talking, "If you aren't going to date Penny to get over Jaune then what are you going to do?"

"I think I just need to be his friend again like we were before. I need to go back to normal and stop worrying so much about it." Ruby's face was finally starting to return to its normal color and she looked over at Ren and Nora. "How is Jaune doing? I haven't really seen him because I've been avoiding him so much." Ruby laughed quietly and stopped in the middle of the laugh like she was not supposed to be laughing in the first place.

"He's doing okay really. He's been training a lot lately." Nora did not look right at Ruby. She was probably trying to hide something, but she seemed nice so it was probably to protect Ruby like how Penny did not tell people that she was a robot to protect herself and her father. So, Penny didn't say anything about Nora not telling the whole truth. At least when she did it she did not hiccup every time.

"He has been very committed to his Huntsman work lately." Ren spoke for the first time since Penny had met him and his voice was incredibly familiar. He sounded almost like her father but not quite. She could not exactly figure out why, but she knew that she liked his voice.

"That's good. I mean we all should be right?" Ruby pulled her cloak around herself a little bit tighter. Maybe she was getting cold waiting in the lobby like this. The ladies had kept them waiting for a much longer time than they kept Penny waiting. It seemed like Penny never had to wait places when Ciel took her.

"What if you just start talking to him about team stuff again? Because you're both leaders." Yang leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over her knee.

"It was kinda really awkward the other night at team training when you two never talked to each other. It was like, we were all there but there was a wall up between you guys and we had to jump and lean and stuff to talk around it." Nora leaned out of her chair to the side so that Ruby could see what she meant.

"I'm sorry guys, I really didn't mean to make it weird." Ruby let go of her cloak and sat up a little taller in her seat. "I have to be better than that for you guys at least." Penny saw Ruby's face change a little, her eyebrows came down and she forced her mouth into a little line. "That's what I'll do. I'll just talk to Jaune about team stuff and keep doing that until it starts to feel normal again." Ruby clenched both of her hands into fists and set them very forcefully down on her knees.

"Oh that's good Ruby." Penny leaned forward and hugged Ruby again. She was happy for her and she wanted her to know it. She had made a decision and Penny knew that once Ruby made up her mind about something that she would not change it. Like when she found out that Penny was a robot, she promised to keep it a secret and she had.

The bell to the Salon's door rang as it opened and Penny looked over to see who was coming in. It was Ciel and she had two of the soldiers with her. That made Penny sad because when they came it meant that she really had to leave and there was no way to get around it. She stood up from her seat by Ruby because she did not want to be told what to do in front of her friends.

"Penny." Ciel said quietly. She knew that Penny knew what this meant and she was not going to waste their time by explaining it.

"I'm coming. Just one moment." Penny turned back to Ruby and all her other friends. "Goodbye everyone. I have to go home now. My father really worries about me when I leave and go out into the town." She looked directly at Ruby, "If he's your friend then you should just talk to him. Friends should be nice to each other like you always are to me Ruby." Ruby stood up and hugged Penny again. Penny had gotten lots of hugs from Ruby today which meant that it was a very good day.

"You're the best friend ever Penny." Ruby said without ever letting go of her, "Thank you so much for talking to me and for your…" Ruby stopped in the middle of her sentence and stepped back from Penny, "your offer. About uhh… dating me. It was really sweet." Ruby looked up from the ground at Penny and was smiling with almost all her teeth. She must be very happy that Penny had offered.

"Of course Ruby. I would do anything for my best friend." Penny took a step backwards towards Ciel and the two soldiers. "It was nice to see you Yang. It was very nice to meet you Ren and Nora."

"I love your hair," Nora called out from her seat by Ren. That made Penny happy, she really liked Nora's hair too.

"Good bye everyone. I hope I get to see you again soon." Nora turned and followed Ciel and the two soldiers out the front door of the salon. She would have to go back and explain to Mr. Ironwood what had happened and maybe even to her father. Penny hoped they would understand that she just had to help her friend.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Okay, so I have never ever even read a chapter from Penny's perspective so I hope I did a good job with her in this one. I tried to strike a balance between giving her the emotions she so obviously has and still maintaining the naivety about the world she has and all the ways she could misconstrue social conventions, like dating.
> 
> Also, I feel like it's important to remind everyone that since the chapters are written from character perspectives, when it says a character reacted a certain way for a certain reason, that is the narrating character's interpretation of the action. It is not the mighty voice of the author declaring truth. I try not to do that in this Fic because it's all about relationships and interpretations.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, I really hope you liked it. This was a rather experimental chapter so please tell me what you think of it. I have been wanting to write a Nuts and Dolts fic as well as my White Rose fic so I would love to know what you all thought of how I wrote Penny in this chapter.
> 
> There will be another chapter out on Tuesday.
> 
> -Zach


	29. Alone Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Pyrrha pulled more air in through her nose as she put one foot in front of the other. Running had become nearly automatic for her at this point, so simple and easy that she could allow her mind to wander as she completed her daily distance. But today wasn't one of her normal runs, today she had a partner with her, her partner.

Jaune was plodding along beside her, doing much better than she had thought he would, but still not doing great. He had only been really pushing himself for about a week now but his commitment was already showing results. He woke up earlier and felt less tired, he was eating better and hitting the gym every day, his sword play had started getting better faster, and he was lasting longer and longer during their training and workout sessions.

The pair approached a bend in the path they were on and some other students were approaching from the opposite direction, walking and talking amongst themselves. Pyrrha let back just a little so she could fall in behind Jaune and give the others room to pass on the opposite side of the small, concrete sidewalk. They had been running for perhaps an hour or so and had to do this every so often as other students made their way around the campus

She and Jaune were going to complete ten more laps of Beacon's main tower and then head back to the room for work on their aura. It had been a long night of working out for both of them, right after classes they had jumped straight into their sparring routines. Their last classes of the day involved wearing their armor so it made sense to do that first. Then they broke down into their gym gear and hit the weights. After what happened the other day Pyrrha had asked that Jaune always bring someone as a lifting partner to help spot for him and said she was available any time. He had graciously accepted and together they moved through their respective workouts with ease. Jaune was lifting even more now since he felt safer with Pyrrha being there to catch the weight if need be. He was well above two hundred pounds now and quickly approaching three hundred. He had passed Ruby and Weiss in his time in the gym and was about even with what Ren could lift, though the quietest member of their team did not make a habit of visiting the gym. Pyrrha was impressed with his progress to say the least. He had been getting better since they started working together in their first semester but now he was really taking strides to grow.

The path straightened back out and Pyrrha lengthened her strides just enough to come back to Jaune's side. She glanced at him as she passed and saw nothing but determination on his face. She knew that to keep pace with her, he was having to push himself and was probably focused entirely on steadying his breathing as they ran. It was admirable, the way he never complained anymore, he just kept working. Pyrrha could see that he had thrown himself at his training with one hundred and ten percent effort and she couldn't be happier. This is the kind of work that it took to be really successful, the kind of work the rest of them all put in and he was finally doing his part.

She kept staring for a moment and let herself get a little lost in his features. The way the sweat ran down along his chin and glistened on his neck in the light of the setting sun. His hair bounced just slightly with every footfall, light as air on top of his head. He never let his gaze waver from straight ahead, clear blue eyes locked on an imaginary target to run towards. His jaw was firm, held in place by that rigid chin with just a hint of blonde stubble.

Something caught Pyrrha's attention in front of her and she whipped her head forward in time to see another student who was walking the same way as them, right in front of her. Pyrrha planted her boot in front of her, spun on the ball of her foot off towards Jaune's side and pulled her arms in tight to avoid hitting the other student. She avoided the impact, but felt her hair whip out against their back as she spun off to the side. She stopped herself at the end of her dodge and turned to the student, beginning her apology before she had even seen who it was.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." Pyrrha bowed her head just slightly before raising her eyes to the victim. "I'm afraid I lost focus for a moment while I was running and didn't watch where I was going." She finally lifted her chin far enough to see their face and was surprised to find none other than Velvet Scarlatina. Pyrrha looked to see who she was with and was happy to see her hulking partner, Yatsuhashi.

"What?" Velvet asked, startled. "I'm sorry, I don't understand." She seemed more flustered than Pyrrha and she hadn't done anything wrong. Pyrrha saw Jaune stop as well and turn to see what had happened.

"It's my fault, I'm sorry really. It's just that I almost ran into you." Pyrrha looked down in embarrassment as she explained herself. She noticed when she glanced at the ground that Velvet and Yatsuhashi were holding hands, her tiny fingers clasped in his massive grip.

"That's okay," Velvet waved off Pyrrha's embarrassment and her apology, "I really didn't even notice." She giggled lightly and Pyrrha raised her eyes. Velvet was always so kind and unassuming. Pyrrha didn't think she had ever even seen her be angry except for when Coco refused to take off her sun glasses inside. Really, that was more frustration than anything else, like Weiss when Ruby talked too fast.

"Hey guys thanks," Jaune walked over to them with his hands on his hips, breathing hard. "If she hadn't stopped I think I might of passed out." Jaune laughed loudly and Pyrrha could hear that although he was breathing hard he had not been in danger of fainting any time soon. Even now with his constantly increasing abilities, Jaune was still modest. Pyrrha watched her partner as he laughed and felt a smile creep across her lips, "Oh hey, " Jaune started, "Are you two dating?" He had obviously noticed their clasped hands as well. Pyrrha wasn't aware the two were dating, but she also didn't really follow the lives of anyone other than her close friends. She had just assumed this was something she had overlooked.

"Yes, we are." Yatsuhashi said in his deep, but gentle voice. He always sounded so serious and a lot of people thought he was rather humorless, but Pyrrha could hear a tone of happiness in even his voice as he confirmed that he and the girl at his side were dating.

"We have been since last year." Velvet smiled up at her towering partner and apparently boyfriend. She looked impossibly sweet and happy, standing there by his side. Like if she had his hand around hers that she could take on the world and never lose that cheer.

"It isn't weird though? Dating your partner?" Jaune's breathing had regulated somewhat and Pyrrha was reminded that they needed to resume their workout, but the comment drew her attention far more. Jaune was asking about someone dating their partner. Did this mean he was starting to think of her that way? Had he finally noticed her and the way she felt about him? Pyrrha's breath stopped in her chest as she looked at him, trying to read his intentions, how interested he was in their answer. But her respect for the couple across from them got the better of her.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha gasped, "That's very personal." she slapped playfully at his shoulder, hoping that their friends from Team CFVY wouldn't feel obligated to answer or that Jaune would rescind his question. She wanted to know how Jaune felt, but she didn't want to intrude on Yatsuhashi and Velvet's relationship or their evening. Simply the fact that Jaune asked meant that he was at least thinking about it.

"No, no it's alright." Velvet laughed sweetly, "We honestly worried it might be at first. But I think we've found that we are better partners than before and it helps with the relationship too."

"It's good for both parts of our lives. And Coco and Fox don't seem to mind at all." Yatsuhashi said calmly, looming over all three of them but without appearing imposing at all, he had a nice, gentle face that made him entirely approachable. "Aren't your teammates Ren and Nora dating as well?"

"Yeah but that's different, they've been together for ever, like way before they came here." Jaune laughed easily, "They became partners because they couldn't imagine being with anyone else I think." Everyone chuckled and Pyrrha imagined what Nora might do if Ren had been partnered with another girl or anyone really besides herself. She simply shuddered at the thought and was glad it had worked out the way it had.

"We really should return to our run." Pyrrha offered a polite smile for their friends. "I really am sorry Velvet, I'll watch where I'm going." Velvet giggled lightly and waved as Pyrrha and Jaune set off at a light trot.

"Goodnight guys, have a nice walk." Jaune called and waved over his shoulder as the distance between them grew. A few meters in Pyrrha slowly began increasing their speed, lengthening her strides and moving more quickly. They had to get back up to the where they had been before, that was their pace, and even though it was her fault, stopping to talk with Yatsuhashi and Velvet had put them a little behind. The fact that it was her fault probably made her feel even more guilty about the whole thing.

They kept running, around and around the huge looping path at the base of the massive building. Pyrrha stayed completely focused on her running for perhaps four or five more laps as she was determined to not allow a repeat of the incident with Velvet. Not that talking to them hadn't been nice and she hadn't gotten a little insight into Jaune's thoughts. But what if she had bumped into Velvet? That would have been terribly embarrassing. As they kept moving though, the sun dipped further and further beneath the horizon until the lamp lights began to flicker to life around campus.

As it grew darker the number of students milling about dwindled down until they were most likely the only ones still out and about in this part of the school. Ren, Nora and the sisters were supposed to be out rather late. They hadn't left until after class and wanted to go the salon and probably dinner of some kind after since they were already down in the city. So she and Jaune still had plenty of time to themselves before anyone got back.

What did Jaune's question mean? Was he just curious about their relationship and trying to learn more about them? That was completely possible, Jaune was friends with lots of people and seemed to be liked back just as well. They all knew Team CFVY so it wouldn't be surprising to know they were close like that. But, then again, he hadn't even known they were dating to begin with so he probably wasn't that close with them. Had he been asking for his own personal reasons then? Was he trying to see if others had had success dating within their teams and with their own partners. No doubt after the situation with Ruby he was concerned about alienating team members and creating awkward situations. That is, if he was looking at Pyrrha in that way.

Pyrrha's mind raced faster and faster around in circles as she tried to figure out what Jaune was doing, what was going on behind those blue eyes. The cool breeze whipping against her face was pleasant and was probably the only thing keeping her at all in control of herself, that and the steady pounding of her feet against the path. She passed the door to the building and realized that was her final lap for the evening. Pyrrha slowed herself to a stop and glanced around for Jaune. She looked back and saw him pounding down the path a few dozen yards back along the way they'd come. She must have gotten so caught up in her thoughts that she outraced him or didn't realize he was falling behind. She cursed herself internally and leaned down to stretch out her calves while she waited for him to finish. Eventually he came up to her side and nearly fell over panting. He leaned over onto his knees and breathed hard and ragged, trying to take in lung fulls of air.

"Are you alright Jaune?" Pyrrha placed a hesitant hand on his back, he really looked like he was in bad shape.

"Yeah… Yeah I'm… fine." He pushed out between breaths. He stood up, unfolding his body and trying to stand straight like she had told him to. Bending over like that actually made it harder to breathe and could lead to cramps, she had told him that the very first day he had run with her and it looked like he still remembered. "I…. didn't know…..we were gonna sprint." He started to forcefully regulate his breathing, taking long deep breaths through his nose and exhaling slowly to get control of himself.

"I'm sorry Jaune," Pyrrha had to stifle her response. She had not been sprinting, just running faster because she wasn't pacing with him as she got lost in thought. He had started working harder, but he still wasn't caught up by any means. "Come on, let's do one more lap real slow to warm down." she offered and waved him forward.

"Yeah, okay." Jaune swung his arms to both sides stretching out his back and chest muscles as they started their last lap. They headed off together, moving just slightly faster than a normal walking pace to keep their legs loose and try and ease their bodies out of the workout. They were about halfway around the loop when Jaune finally spoke again. "So Yatsuhashi and Velvet huh?"

"Yes, they seem to be very happy together." Pyrrha felt her heart jump into her throat at him mentioning the other couple. He had brought it up again, that must mean that he was thinking about them, as in the two of them. That must be why it was still on his mind.

"That's crazy. I guess I never really noticed it before but it totally does make sense. I mean, their team has been through alot together and I guess Yatsuhashi is really the protective type. Plus Velvet is just so sweet isn't she?" Jaune spun his torso at the waist, pulling himself as far each direction as he could to stretch. So, did he think that maybe they were only dating because of the experiences they had together so far? That those kinds of moments, dangerous or otherwise could pull two people together. She and Jaune had not any of those moments yet, so perhaps he wasn't seeing her that way.

"I suppose so." Pyrrha maintained her calm pace. The run really had not tired her out overly much and she was just fine with the warm down walk the way it was, it gave her an excuse to talk to Jaune before they started up their aura training. But where was he going with this? Was he going to ask her what she thought about partners dating?

"I don't know. It's just weird to me now to think about dating people while we're here. Like, we all have to be so close as a team and even just as friends. But, Ruby won't even talk to me anymore." Jaune went to put his hand in the front pocket of his hoodie but realized he was wearing a t-shirt to run in and caught himself, raising his arms and lacing his fingers behind his head instead. Pyrrha wanted to smile at his little awkward movement but was so dreading what he had said that it was all she could do to keep her face neutral.

"But surely she will come around." Pyrrha wanted to grab him by the shoulders and tell him that Ruby was being a fool and she would never act that way if anything ever arose that was able to drive them apart. But she just walked as calmly as she could by his side. "It has only been a week."

"She's so unlike herself though. I mean, have you ever seen Ruby go for more than a few minutes without talking non-stop or coming up with some crazy plan?" Jaune shook his head, "It's been a whole week already and she's barely talking. Not just me, she's not talking to anyone." Pyrrha had a flash of hope, he was worried about her, of course he was. Jaune was always worried about others before himself. But Pyrrha knew that Ruby would be back to normal in no time. She was heartbroken right now because Jaune had been her first relationship and she had broken up with Jaune. Wouldn't anyone be heartbroken after that. Jaune and Ruby hadn't even been dating that long so surely she would be better soon.

"They did all go out together today, perhaps she will be better when she gets back." Pyrrha hoped that she could drive Jaune's mind off this track of thought. The last thing she wanted during their night together was for him to be worrying about Ruby and how she was doing the entire time. She realized that was slightly selfish and even more hypocritical since one of the things she liked most about him was how caring he was.

"Maybe, I don't know." Jaune stopped and turned to her. They had almost finished their lap and would be headed back to the dorm soon so Pyrrha didn't mind stopping, it would prolong their talk if nothing else. "Do you get what I mean though? Like, if you date someone here and it doesn't work out, what if it even ends really bad? That could be so terrible." He looked up and over her head, into the distance. "What if I made the wrong call in a fight because I was worried about someone, or what if the two people didn't like each other after a break-up and it ruined their teamwork?"

"Jaune," Pyrrha stepped forward slightly and lifted her hand from her hip maybe an inch or so before she caught herself. She had been going to put her hand on the side of his cheek but she shouldn't. She took a half step back and lowered her hand back to her side. "I think you are worrying too much. You and Ruby's friendship will be fine, I'm sure of it." She wanted to smile for him but couldn't. She wanted to hug him but couldn't. She wouldn't to kiss him but couldn't.

"I hope so." Jaune dropped his hands and started walking again slowly. Pyrrha matched his pace and wished he would cheer up a little but she didn't know how to make that happen for him. So she just decided to be there for him until she could think of something better.

They walked back to the dorm room together in what should have been companionable silence but Pyrrha spent the entire time worrying about Jaune's mood and trying to come up with some way to cheer him up. She hoped at least that their aura session would help him forget about his worries and maybe then they could relax a little together before Ren and Nora returned. They would be able to tell Jaune if Ruby was feeling any better as well so he could stop worrying. Pyrrha was sure that after going out with her sister and friends that Ruby would feel better. It was very hard to spend time with Nora and stay in a bad mood.

"Do you mind if I take my shower first?" Jaune asked once they were inside. Ren and Nora weren't back yet, just as they had expected. They hadn't heard from them that they were on their way back either so they probably had plenty of time.

"No, of course not." Pyrrha nodded to him and moved off towards her bed. Jaune slid into the bathroom and closed the door with a click. Pyrrha removed her tiara and the spare pieces of armor she was still wearing before moving to the bed and sliding her shoes off. She set each piece of bronze armor gingerly on the bed and left her shoes on the floor. The armor looked to be in good shape but she wiped it down and checked all the straps anyway. She rested for a moment and listened to the shower water running in the bathroom. What was she going to do?

She stood and began stripping off her gym clothes. Despite what she knew everyone always said about her looking so wonderful after workouts and looking as if she didn't sweat at all, she was hot and sticky and miserable. If she could get into some fresh clothes it would help her relax and sort through her thoughts while she waited for Jaune to finish. So Pyrrha slipped her shorts off and found a pair of clean pajama bottoms in her drawer and slid those on, then found a clean, overly large t-shirt and did the same. It felt so nice to wear loose clothing after a long day. She still had on her undergarments, but even though she was sure Jaune was going to stay in the shower for a bit longer she refused to risk removing those with someone else around. She would get to them when she had locked herself in the bathroom and could have some guaranteed privacy.

Pyrrha sat on the floor once she was finished changing and cleaning her armor and leaned into a deep stretch. It felt nice to pull on her tendons like this after a long run and an even longer day. Even if it had been rather slow, it had still made her tighten up all over and the stiff chairs in class didn't help either. She inhaled deeply and breathed out slowly as she leaned into the stretch. So, Jaune was interested in the complications of dating a teammate and the possible implications of a break up. Okay, that was normal, those were normal anxieties to have. He was worried because of what had happened between himself and Ruby, their break-up had definitely put a strain on the relationship between the two teams. Team Practice had been awkward and quiet compared to the usual, lunches were strained and jokes all felt subdued or more tame than normal, even classes were a tad awkward because they all felt the need to follow this informal seating chart that put Ruby and Jaune at opposite sides. So it made sense that after that he would have some fears about that sort of relationship again.

What could have spurred him to bring it up is what had Pyrrha's mind spiraling around though. She leaned up and out of the stretch and switched legs. Was it just because they had run into the couple from Team CFVY. Surely, running into a pair of students who were partners as well as being romantically involved would put it at the forefront of his mind. But, over an hour later at the end of their run he had still been thinking about it so it was more than that. Ren and Nora were dating and it's possible that Jaune was concerned about what might happen if they were ever to split, what that might do to the team, to their partnership. He was their leader and had been taking that role more and more seriously lately so that was part of his responsibilities. But Ren and Nora behaved as if they were already married. They clicked together so well and never appeared to have any issues that they weren't perfectly capable of resolving in a healthy manner.

Pyrrha lifted off that leg and sighed. Jaune was taking longer in the shower than usual. She pushed up on her hands to lift her butt from the ground and arranged her legs so she could drop into the splits. The stretch pulled on the insides of her thighs just enough to make her groan a little in pleasure, stretching was Oum's gift to athletes, a reward after their hard work. So, was Jaune thinking about inter-team dating because he was thinking of her? Was it because he was starting to notice her affections or develop feelings himself that he was concerned about what that might mean? But, he had brought it up to her. If was feeling nervous about something that had to do with her, wouldn't he have asked someone else? Pyrrha sighed and let herself fall out of the stretch onto the floor, laying face first against the carpet. She groaned as she realized that him being interested in her was probably the least likely thing. He could be needlessly worried about teammates, fretting over his own failures, even just stuck on it because he didn't have anything else to think about. But, if he came to her with his concerns then there was no way that she was the cause.

"Pyrrha, whatcha doin'? Jaune asked skeptically from the door to the shower. He was wearing his dirty pair of gym shorts from before and toweling at his hair and she was lying face down in the middle of the room in baggy clothing. She jumped up embarrassed beyond belief and patted at her clothing in an attempt to try and make it look okay, she knew it did not.

"I was just uhh, stretching. And then I laid down." Pyrrha said slowly, hoping he would take her excuse at face value and say nothing else. She sincerely wished that he would step back into the bathroom and come out again so they could do it over. But she knew that wouldn't happen so she just had to hope he didn't think it was too ridiculous.

"If you're too tired, we can skip the aura stuff tonight." Jaune offered hopefully as he moved towards his bed and his dresser. He tried to appear nonchalant but Pyrrha knew that he was being playful, and also probably hoping he could get out of his least favorite part of their routine.

"Now, now, you aren't getting out of your training that easily. Pyrrha made her way to the bathroom, "I will feel just fine after a quick shower." She closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had just had to make it through their aura training without making any more of a fool of herself than she already had and everything would be fine. He wasn't interested in her now and she needed to deal with that and stop being such a hot mess around him. Pyrrha began to strip off her clothes to jump in the shower and then slid them right back on because she realized still needed a washcloth. She stepped back to the door and breathed slowly to steady herself, why was she so lost and uncontrolled around him? She opened the door slowly, not wanting to draw much attention to the fact that she was forgetting something as simple as a washcloth.

She eased the door open just enough to slip through and darted directly for her bed, it only took her three long bounds to pass Ren and Jaune's beds and make it over to her own. She grabbed a washcloth from the dresser and turned to dash back towards the bathroom. But leaning over in the corner by his own dresser was Jaune, wearing nothing but his boxers and rummaging around for some real clothing. All the lines of his body were hard and firm. Apparently the work he had been putting in really was having an effect. His legs were hard and bulging with strength, the muscles on his back rippled ever so slightly under his tan skin as he moved his arms around in the drawer, his shoulders and biceps were much larger than when he had arrived at Beacon. Jaune was so fit and muscular now, this was not helping. Pyrrha dashed back to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She knew he had heard that but it was really better than turning and catching her staring at his rear end and nearly naked body. She sighed, it was going to be a long, bothersome night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - It's been awhile since we've heard from Pyrrha hasn't it? We get a chance to see what she thinks now that the break-up is just about resolved. She is a terribly flustered girl and hunky, buff as hell Jaune is not helping.
> 
> Also, What? Not Salon Day Part Two? I know, I know that's a little weird, but I wanted to break it up since the Salon day and this day happen at the same time in the story. Imagine it like cutting back and forth between two locations in a show. The next part of the salon trip will be on Thursday.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, I can't wait to hear from you.
> 
> -Zach


	30. The Salon (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Penny sullenly trod out of the store, she had been smiling as she left but it was pretty obvious her fellow redhead was pretty bummed that she had to go. Nora was sad to see her leave as well, there could never be too many redheads in one place. Nora turned back to her friends who had all also been watching their new friend leave.

"So she was fun." Nora said happily. It was true, Penny seemed like a great time. She had offered to date Ruby right there on the spot just to cheer her up. What an awesome girl. She didn't understand what this nonsense with General Ironwood and the armed guards was about but everyone has their deal. Penny seemed nice and she and Ruby were friends so she must be alright.

"Yeah," Ruby chuckled a little nervously, probably still getting over being offered a date from another girl. "She's so silly sometimes." ruby still had a slight blush even after Penny had left.

"Silly? Rubes you should have taken her up on that offer." Yang punched Ruby playfully in the shoulder. "Where are you gonna find a girl cuter than her? She's like just your type?"

"Wuh?" Ruby physically recoiled from her sister, "My type? But she's a girl Yang, and my friend. I mean I know you date girls too, but like…" Ruby petered off as her argument lost steam and conviction. Wait, Yang dated girls? That was definitely an interesting tidbit Nora hadn't known. It made sense, but still, it opened up a few possibilities.

" 'But' what?" Yang asked and leaned back with a smug smile, "I know you thought some of my old girlfriends were cute," Yang laughed uproariously just as an employee came over to help them, effectively cutting off any retort Ruby might have.

"Alright ladies and very handsome gentleman, what are you in for today?" the hair stylist asked. Nora felt the urge to tackle her against the wall of fancy shampoo bottles and let her know just who that incredibly charming gentleman belonged to, but Ren rested his hand gently on her thigh and she knew there was nothing to worry about. He didn't like brunettes anyway.

"Well, I'm just here for a wash today." Yang said rather sternly. She sure was protective of her hair. "No scissors or little bits of tinfoil come anywhere near me," Yang stood, "Understand?"

"Oh yes of course. Whatever you want miss. It's a shame though, you're hair is so lovely, we could do so much with it." the stylist leaned around to try and take in all of Yang's giant mane appreciatively.

"No no," Yang held two fingers to her eyes and then pointed them at the stylist. Nora had gotten the 'I'm Watching You' signal from her blonde friend before and knew the stylist better watch herself if she wanted to stay safe. "Just a nice, long wash please." Yang's serious face broke into an easy smile.

"I'll be having the same." Ren made no move to stand.

"No Renny, you have to get more than that!" Nora grabbed his hand with both of hers. "Can't we make the stripe longer? I think you should do a whole thing of your hair."

"Oh she's right, you would look absolutely wonderful if you extended that pink stripe. Have you thought about any other colors. It really contrasts with your black hair, you could do one in green or red." The stylist turned from Yang who she apparently was getting nothing out of and tried Ren now. Nora was not having any of this other color nonsense though.

"No, it's staying pink." She dropped his hand and crossed her arms, "That's the color it's supposed to be."

"I think I understand,," the stylist nodded her head politely with a huge smile, "It's so your eyes pop right? It works very well." Nora was furious, this girl could not take a hint at all.

"I wonder what makes you pop." Nora, clad all in pink and white, stood and brought Ren up with her, clutching his hand in a vice grip. "Don't you?" Nora did her best to keep her voice sweet and high, not letting it descend into a growl of anger.

"Nora, Nora, it's okay." Yang laughed at her side, obviously trying to calm her down. Nora took a deep breath, she knew she didn't have anything to worry about with Ren but it didn't mean she didn't get jealous. She loosened her grip on his hand just slightly.

"Are you together?" the girl threw one hand forward flippantly, "That's so adorable, you have a total yin yang thing going, all calm and serene and then all energetic and crazy." she smiled wide at them, "So is anyone getting anything more than a hair wash?" Ruby lifted her hand high up into the air to try and get the girl's attention.

"Yeah, I wanna have some cut and get my tips re-dyed." Ruby said as confidently as she could. This girl was so unpredictable it's no wonder Ruby was unsure with her.

"Alright now there is something I can work with." the stylist clapped her hands together and lunged forward to pull Ruby away by her shoulders. She sounded happier and less like she was trying to flirt with Ren so Nora calmed even more. She didn't want Ruby to go off alone with her though and she needed her hair cut too.

"Yang, Ren, I'm gonna go with Ruby and make sure that…. Girl… doesn't do anything to her." She tried to put as much venom on the word as she could, "You two stick together and Yang." Nora turned to her seriously, "You keep all these ladies away from my man. I'm trusting you."

"You got it Nora," Yang flashed her an exaggerated thumbs up, "No one'll come near him." Ren sighed and walked off towards the back of the store with Yang. Nora darted around in front of him, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then followed quickly after Ruby.

"You got it bad don't you Ren?" she heard Yang ask and she paused just a moment to hear how sweet Ren's answer would be.

"No Yang, I have it quite fantastic actually." Ren smiled with that, she was sure of it. He was absolutely the best. Nora skipped over to where the snarky stylist had seated Ruby and was pulling her hair out at all sorts of weird angles.

"Wow! Your hair is just so soft and the color is so deep." The girl had her nose nearly buried in Ruby's hair and Ruby looked really uncomfortable about the whole thing."You are so lucky you have such wonderful hair."

"She does doesn't she?" Nora flopped down in the chair next to Ruby. The stylist girl pulled out of Ruby's hair and regarded them both evenly.

"Hey, you getting your hair cut too? I really thought it was just me." Ruby asked, obviously happy to have a familiar face around again and to not be alone with the slightly disturbed employee.

"Yeah I think I might." Nora ran both hands back through the bright orange mass on her head. "It's kinda long right now."

"As soon as I cut hers and put in the dye, I can switch over to you while it sets. Does that sound okay?" the girl's voice suddenly switched to a much more professional tone and it threw Nora off a little. She had expected to have to fight with her just to keep her seat.

"Could you cut hers first so she can come sit with me while the dye dries? It's so boring under those big heater dome things." Ruby moved her hands in an arc above her head to indicate the dryers used to set the dye once they were finished.

"Definitely, anything for someone with such wonderful hair." the girl ran another hand through Ruby's hair and moved over to a small shelf to start gathering supplies. "So what color are we doing? You're probably bored of red. I mean it's all over you, your cape, your hair, your boot laces even. What about bright pink? Or green or purple? We could even mix some colors."

"No, uhh I think I wanna go with red again." Ruby threw her hands up protectively over her hair, "Ya know, deep dark red, to match my cloak and my boots and stuff."

"Yeah, red and black is kinda her thing." Nora spun her chair in a circle, "But I thought we were cutting my hair first?

"What? Oh yeah huh? You did ask that, okay totally." the girl threw the bottles she had gathered back at the counter and grabbed a pair of scissors, some trimmers and a comb. "So what are we doing here?" She moved towards Nora menacingly, trimmer buzzing in one hand and snipping her scissors open and shut in the other.

"Amy?" a voice called from a little further back in the store, where Ren and Yang had gone, "Amy where are you." A slightly older woman, probably somewhere in her thirties stepped out of the long hallway and gasped, "Amethyst, what are you doing?"

The girl that had been speaking with them this whole time, Amethyst apparently, dropped her tools directly to the floor. The scissors clattered off to the side and the trimmers broke into tiny pieces, the small blades shooting out in all directions. A few pieces hit Nora and she was sure Ruby too, but it was nothing their aura didn't completely absorb. The crashing noise and squeal that Amethyst let out drew the attention of every customer and employee in the room.

"Amethyst, how many times do I have to tell you? You are not allowed to cut hair yet." the older lady stormed over and smiled apologetically at Nora and Ruby, "I am so sorry, she didn't do anything yet did she?" she started looking over their hair without waiting for a response, "Miss, please tell me you had red dyed tips when you came in?" she had a pleading look on her face.

"Yeah, I actually came in to get them redone." Ruby smiled at her, she was so much happier than she had been the last few days Nora thought. "She didn't do anything." the woman breathed an audible sigh of relief and then whipped back around to face Amethyst who was hanging her head like a whipped dog.

"Go into the back, a lady came in to get her hair washed and has way too much for one person to handle, you need to help." she said in a very serious tone and shooed Amethyst off towards the back before spinning around to face Ruby and Nora again. "I really am terribly sorry about that, Amy just started here a little while ago and she's still learning," she leaned over to begin gathering the pieces of the broken trimmer off the ground and then saw Ruby and Nora's exposed legs, "None of this hit you did it?" She jumped back up in shock.

"Nope, we're all good!" Nora kicked her legs out in front of her, "I mean some stuff did hit us, but we're Huntresses in training from Beacon so like, we were fine." She tried to give the overly worried woman a reassuring smile but it didn't look like it worked.

"Umm, miss. That lady with all the hair, she isn't blonde is she?" Ruby asked from her seat. The lady turned a quizzical and still very worried face towards her.

"Why?" A look of confusion and horror seeped across the woman's face.

"Well, that's my sister and she is really, really protective of her hair." Ruby said seriously, "And she has a slight anger problem and is a huntress too. She can get pretty dangerous." Ruby looked sheepish and small, like she was either embarrassed about her sister or maybe even scared of what might happen if Amethyst did anything brash.

"Oh…" the woman looked back down the hallway after Amethyst worriedly, "Well she's with one of our more experienced girls since your sister has so much beautiful hair. I'm sure they'll be fine." She came back to them with a much calmer smile, "Now what can I get done for you two today?"

The woman went about cutting and styling Nora's hair just the way she asked and complimenting her on how well she kept it and how great it looked. She talked and talked as she went along, complimenting them on how great they looked and asking about what it was like to be huntresses and how exciting it was or if it was really dangerous.

"So many people dislike red hair but then they dye their hair bold, exciting colors when you just have it naturally." she fawned over Nora's head and then looked aside to Ruby, "I mean even your friend here is getting hers dyed red." Ruby blushed hard and Nora giggled.

"That's just because she thinks I'm cute, right Ruby?" Nora asked and watched the other girl's face in the mirror, her face lit up in a sudden blush and she opened her mouth in shock.

"Whuh? Huh?" Ruby nearly fell out of her chair as she tried to turn to Nora as quickly as she could, "I mean… Not no, but I don't…." Ruby got even more flustered as she tried to right herself in her seat. Once she was sitting as normally as Ruby ever sat she was able to speak again, "I've been dying my hair red since I was like eight."

"Oh my goodness, have you really?" the lady lowered her hands from Nora's head and looked at Ruby, "That is some crazy dedication, most girls who dye their hair like that change it almost every other time they come in." She smiled at Ruby and Ruby seemed to get a little better control of herself.

"Well I mean, all my stuff is red and black and it just sorta matches." Ruby swung her legs idly beneath her, "My name is Ruby and everything." Their newer much more polite hair stylist, giggled like she was twenty years younger than she looked.

"It does make sense you're right. Plus it looks fantastic on you. I don't think I have ever seen someone with silver eyes, the red really frames them nicely." she said and returned to Nora's hair. Ruby blushed hard at the praise and Nora giggled.

"She's a little shy right now. Did you see that other redhead girl that was in here?" Nora asked, looking at the woman cutting her hair by looking in the mirror in front of her.

"Oh yes, Penny? I help Penny every time she comes in. It's like I'm her personal hair stylist." she giggled again.

"Yeah Penny. Well you see Ruby's goin' through a tough time lately." Nora began.

"Nora!" Ruby moaned from her side, "Stop it." she begged.

"It has to do with a boy," Nora snickered and their hair stylist laughed, keeping it better under control for Ruby's sake, "And Penny and her are really good friends , but Penny offered to date her to make her feel better." That was just too much for her, the woman moved her tools away from Nora's head and doubled over in laughter for a moment. She stood and wiped a joyful tear from her eye.

"That sounds exactly like Penny. Not a mean bone in her body. I don't think she could even hurt a fly." she returned to cutting Nora's hair.

"I wouldn't quite say that," Ruby looked a little recovered now, happy that Nora hadn't gone too deep into the whole Jaune thing. "She's actually a really strong Huntress too."

"Really? I honestly never would have thought," she laughed openly, "She always talking about combat this and fighting that but I figured she was just a fan or something. Lots of girls look up to you Huntresses you know."

Both Ruby and Nora blushed at that. They knew that to average people they were akin to the superheroes out of Jaune's comic books but it was still kind of embarrassing to be reminded of it. Especially when they knew someone like Pyrrha Nikos who was literally a celebrity because of her Huntress abilities, cereal boxes and all. To them it was just what they did, nothing special because basically every person they knew did it too.

"Okay, I think you're done." the lady stepped back and away from Nora so she could look at herself clearly. She grabbed a small hand mirror off a nearby counter and held it behind Nora's head so she could see the back as well. It was perfect, exactly what Nora had before and exactly what she was looking for this time. She liked her hair this way, Ren liked her hair this way and it didn't get in _Magnhild's_ way, what else mattered?

"Thank you so much, it's perfect." Nora spun around in her chair and smiled directly at her, not wanting to use the mirror this time.

"You're very welcome." she smiled to Nora and turned to Ruby, "And what are we doing for you Ms. Ruby?" Ruby perked up and sat straighter in her chair, feet dangling well off the ground.

"I just wanna shorten it up a little bit and then dye my ends like they are now." Ruby smiled and began swinging her legs far back and forth in excitement.

"That sounds perfectly reasonable." She moved over to Ruby's chair and began the process of figuring out exactly how short she wanted to go, where she might want to stay a little longer, all those sorts of technical details. It was enough of a hassle to do it for her own hair and Nora didn't know how Ruby had sat through it with her.

"I'm gonna go check on Ren and Yang," Nora jumped up from her seat and removed the hair apron thing and strung it over the back of the chair. She waved to Ruby and their new hair stylist friend and wandered through to the back of the store where her wonderful boyfriend and Yang were having their hair washed.

She came around the corner of one small room off the main hallway and there was Ren setting in front of a sink with small dip in the front meant to hold the customer's neck. He was rubbing at his head with a towel, his long ponytail undone and loose strands of black hair running wild down his back and over his shoulders, just one small accent of pink hanging in front of his eyes.

"Hey Renny. All done?" Nora asked as she came around the corner. He turned from watching three attendants work on Yang's massive amount of hair to greet her.

"Yes, just about. I believe they said they still wanted to comb it out but that Yang required more _immediate_ attention." He chuckled very lightly at the end of his sentence. She knew he thought it was silly how seriously Yang took her hair, to him it was just another part of his body. He cared for it and even dyed a bit pink for Nora's sake, but really it was just there to him, like fingernails or eyelashes. "You look fantastic though."

"Renny thank you." Nora giggled uncontrollably for a moment and the rushed forward to kiss him on the cheek. They tried not to be overt with their affection in public and around their friends but when he complimented her like that, what was she supposed to do.

"What's up Nora?" Yang called out from the sink, her head obscured by a mountain of suds.

"I'm all done, just Ruby now. The lady doing our hair is really, really nice." Nora stretched around to try and see Yang's face but between all the employees and the soap and water and bottles of product, there was just no way.

"Go back to her though, take Ren if you want. We're here for her remember." Yang waved one hand from its spot trapped at her hip to try and shoo her away. Nora turned back to Ren.

"You wanna come? It might be fun to watch Ruby get it dyed." Nora slid over and sat on his lap, "Plus, she looks kinda busy." Nora jerked her head over at Yang.

"Well, I actually heard what your stylist was saying. I think I might need to stay here. Just in case." Ren gestured subliminally over at Amethyst who looked far too eager about washing Yang's hair, diving in with both hands and moving so much she got suds all over her own face.

"That's probably a good idea." Nora giggled again and stood, "Boop." she poked him in the nose, eliciting a smile from the boy and then pranced off back towards Ruby.

When she got back Ruby was still having her hair cut but looked to be almost done now. Her hair wasn't complicated really, it was mostly the dying that took a while. Once the hair was soaked in dye and wrapped in little bits of foil then they had to go sit down under these heat lamp hat things and let it set. It went pretty fast at places like this that got to use red dust just for the hair dryers, but it still took longer than a normal haircut.

"Welcome back gorgeous." the stylist said, spying Nora in the mirror as she approached, "How are the other two?"

"Well, Yang is taking up like the rest of the staff just to wash her hair and Renny is as sweet as ever." Nora grinned and threw herself into her chair, spinning it around with a giggle.

"How does she handle all of that on her own?" The stylist looked back and forth between Ruby and Nora for an answer.

"I think it's just practice. She's never had a real haircut in her life." Ruby hummed in thought, "A few times it had to get cut because of an accident in training or she would burn some of it off before she could control her semblance." Ruby laughed at the memories, "But she's probably like the best hair washer in all of Remnant because of it."

"Well it is just incredible that she maintains it so well. She has more hair back there than everyone else in here combined and it's so glorious and bright." she snipped one last time and stepped back to examine Ruby's hair. "And you are ready for dyes I think." She held a mirror behind Ruby just as she had done for Nora.

After the haircut there was no red left in Ruby's hair at all, it was just solid black. It took Nora a second to realize what was so off but once she did she giggled loud enough to draw Ruby's attention.

"What? Does it look bad?" Ruby and the stylist spun on Nora.

"No, no. It's just so weird to see you with your natural hair." Nora laughed again, not trying to restrain herself this time.

"Oh," Ruby laughed along now, "Yeah I guess it is." she looked back in the mirror and smiled.

"Did you want to keep it that way? You can always come in and get it dyed if you decide you don't like it." their lady offered. Ruby spun her head to each side, letting her hair drift around in a circle around her head as she thought.

"No, I'll get it dyed again. People might not recognize me without it." Ruby laughed and scooted back in her chair a little so her head was in a better spot to be worked on.

"Alright then, let's get to it." She pulled out a bottle of dye and the strips of tinfoil to wrap around her hair. She slipped on some gloves and leaned over to get to work. "I just need you to try and not move a lot so I can get it just right, okay?"

"Sounds good," Ruby bounced happily and then realized what she had done, "Sorry." She sat big and tall, back straight and shoulders against the chair, looking very much like her white clad partner.

"So Ruby, what are we gonna go do after this?" Nora asked. Ruby looked like she really wanted to turn her head but tried desperately to see Nora through the mirror without moving her neck.

"Uhhhh.. I don't know. It's not really my plan is it?" Ruby's voice was strained with the effort of not moving, something she was not very good at. Nora decided to make it easier for her and moved to the counter with the mirror. She leaned back into the countertop and met Ruby's eyes now that she had placed herself directly in front of her.

"Well it is kinda your day though." Nora put her finger to her chin in thought, "We should at least grab food before we head back right? Since we're all the way down here."

"Do you not get to come down from the school very often?" the stylist had her head bent low over Ruby's head as she carefully applied the dye, being sure to get it just on the tips.

"We can come down basically whenever, we just don't a lot." Ruby said, still being careful not to move her head at all, "We actually spend a lot of time studying and training and stuff, also I sleep alot." Ruby did her best to suppress a giggle so as not to shake her head but most of the laughter still spilled out.

"Yeah, they have almost everything we need up there too. Just the food down here is a lot better." Nora tilted her head back and rested the top against the mirror. "And there's like nothing to do up there. It can get really boring." She knew she was whining but it was true.

"Well then you should go out and do something fun. You look gorgeous, your hair will be even more wonderful than it was before. Maybe you can flirt with some boys or some girls or whatever it is you do these days." she laughed happily and finished another section of Ruby's hair and kept working.

"Yes! Ruby! We should go out." Nora jumped up from the counter and grabbed Ruby's knees, "I know it like really isn't your thing but oh, can we please? I know you'll have a good time."

"I don't know." Ruby fidgeted slightly and then caught herself and tried to hold her head still in the new position. "What do you even do?"

"We need to go to a club. There's music and dancing and people and it's so much fun." Nora jumped up and away from Ruby spinning in a little circle, "Plus, since we're already here Yang can't make you wear heels." She knew that would be the winning part for Ruby, she hated dressing up and wearing heels and doing all that work.

"Really? No lady stilts?" A hint of excitement entered Ruby's voice and the stylist laughed good naturedly as she kept working. "I mean, maybe we could try. You have to convince Ren though."

"That won't be hard, Ren's actually a really good dancer." Nora squealed in excitement and the stylist stepped away from Ruby.

"Alright honey, you're all set. It's not a lot since it's only the tips and we have those fancy new dryers so you won't have to be under very long. Here let me walk you back." she said and motioned them towards the back of the store. Ruby hopped up and Nora tried her best to calm down. She just could not believe that they were finally gonna get Ruby to go out with them. Just wait until she told Yang.

They followed her back into the store and she sat Ruby down under one of the dryers. There were a few normal chairs nearby for friends just like Nora, well maybe not just like Nora, to sit and talk with people having their dye finished. The stylist explained that the machine had a timer and would ding for Ruby when she was done so she could just relax and wait until it finished, then they could remove the wrappers and she would be good to go. Ruby settled into the chair and the stylist moved off, presumably to help some other customers or maybe check on Yang.

"So, we know this place that let's you in even though you're under eighteen. You just have to wear this big wristband that says you're underage and if you're rowdy or anything they can kick you out. But really, they can kick anybody out for being rowdy, me and Yang have tested that rule more than a few times." Nora was way too excited to sit so she just bent down by Ruby so the younger girl could see her without having to look through the clear plastic of the dome over her head. "I really don't think that's gonna be an issue with you though, you're never really the rowdy type anyways."

"So, is it just like dancing and stuff?" Ruby shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Yeah, yeah, but it's really fun." Nora could not risk her losing the will to go now, she hadn't even got to tell Yang yet. "The music is really good and everyone looks so amazing under the lights and stuff, plus you can just dance and dance and no one cares because everyone is dancing. They have some tables and stuff and you can drink too." Nora caught herself, "Well I mean you can't and we aren't supposed to either but still sometimes we do because Yang knows the guy so we can sneak some. Ren never drinks though, like ever." Ruby looked a little uncomfortable at the mention of alcohol so Nora backpedaled, "We won't tonight though, we're just there to have fun with you since today was all about getting you away from the school anyways."

"Okay, it sounds kind of okay I guess." Ruby looked up and tried to sit a little taller so her head was more inside the big plastic dome. It was obviously built for people a little taller than herself.

"It'll be great really, I promise. And if it's not we can just get outta there." Nora tried to reassure Ruby with a smile. The option to leave early if she didn't like it seemed to cheer Ruby up. So Nora went for broke, "Then, there's usually a food truck outside that has the best Mistralian food in Vale. It's the best because most of the food you can eat while you walk because it's comes on sticks and stuff."

"Ooh really? I do like Mistralian food, do they ever have any sweet stuff?" Ruby perked a bit at the prospect of foreign food.

"Yeah, yeah sometimes. They have those little square baked things with the sugar." Nora leaned forward, "And they sell them by the dozen." She whispered in a low sultry voice she usually saved for menacing plans, but this was rather menacing, tricking Ruby into the club with the promise of baked sweets.

"You got me, that sounds awesome. Just wait 'till we tell Yang." Ruby smiled brightly and Nora was confident she had won her over for sure. Just as she went on to tell a little more about the place they could hear shouting from the wash area.

"No, I told you to do nothing!" Yang's voice carried down the hall. Several heads poked out of their little cubbies along the hallway to look towards the commotion. Ruby squirmed in her seat and looked desperately like she wanted to see what was going on but also realized if she moved from the chair it would ruin her hair.

"I'll check," Nora sang out, not wanting Ruby to ruin her hair over more of Yang's antics, "I'm sure it's just Yang being Yang."

"What have you done? It's ruined!" Yang's voice came ringing out again, perfectly clear despite the distance and walls in the way. Nora darted off around the corner and back to where she had found Ren and Yang earlier.

Nora skipped into the room and saw Yang was standing now with her back to the entrance. Ren was on her right with his hands out, ready to intervene if she lost her incredibly short temper. The girl from before, Amethyst, was opposite Yang, pleading desperately.

"No, no look how good it looks." Amethyst said as she held a small mirror up in front of her, half showing Yang her hair, half trying to ward off any coming blows, whatever good a mirror would do against Yang.

"Yang, it really does fit." Ren was trying to calm her down from her side, "I think you may need to calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down? Ren have you seen it?" Yang spun around and Nora got her first look at the damage. One long strand, all the way from the top of Yang's head down past her hips was dyed a brilliant purple that really did match her eyes perfectly. It was curled around some strands of blonde making it twinkle and shimmer as her hair shook with rage, like there was a tiny string of gold woven into it. Nora had to admit, she did really think it looked good but she knew Yang would never agree.

"Oh Yang, you got a highlight?" Nora ran over, trying to fake enthusiasm so Yang might calm down a little. It didn't seem to work though.

"I did not _get_ a highlight." Yang yelled at Nora and then spun back on Amethyst, "This…. Girl." Yang gritted out the word, obviously wanting to say more, "Decided to do it without my permission." Yang spun back to Nora, "She just pulled some out while they were washing it all and did it off to the side."

"But Yang it looks so good. It's just like that bandana thing you always have." Nora said as cheerily as she could. The little accent of color honestly did a lot to break up Yang's seamless mass of golden hair and give it a new, fun element.

"But it's _my_ hair and I didn't ask her to do anything," Yang's eyes began to fuzz over with a color that was very definitely not purple as she turned slowly back towards Amethyst, "So what are you gonna do here? Because I'm real close to tearing the whole place down." Yang's voice dropped low and dangerous and Nora saw Amethyst shiver.

"Yang no!" Ruby came running into the room, tinfoil hair rattling against her head. She was still wearing the big hair apron and had her cloak on her back. She looked absolutely ridiculous and the crinkling noise the tinfoil made on her hair was the perfect accent to top it all off. Nora tried hard but couldn't resist laughing despite how tense the air was. "This is supposed to be my day!" Ruby stomped her combat boot down hard in defiance and looked simply adorable trying to assert herself over Yang.

Yang sighed out loud and slowly turned back around, her eyes much closer to solid purple now.

"Ruby, look what she did." Yang pointed at her now purple strand of hair.

"And?" Ruby asked incredulously, "It'll go away after a little while. You can't just blow up their store 'cause they messed up your hair." Ruby crossed her arms, "You always do this!" Yang's face softened at the sight of her upset little sister.

"I'm sorry Rubes. You know how I am about my hair." Yang's shoulders dropped in resignation, "You're right. You're right." She took a deep, shaky breath and when she opened her eyes again they were once again a gorgeous, deep, completely red free shade of purple.

"It does look good though." Ruby smiled for her older sister.

"Plus! Ruby said she would go to the club with us." Nora hoped that could be the final piece of news that brought Yang back to the world of the sane, or at least back to Ruby and Nora.

"Wait what?" Yang charged over to Ruby and grabbed her by the shoulders, "You're gonna come dancing?" Yang lifted Ruby up by the shoulders so they were eye to eye. "Are you really?"

"Ow, Yang." Ruby wheezed, "Not if you break me." Yang dropped Ruby who landed on her feet with a huff. Yang's smile was huge now and her fists unclenched but she turned back on Amethyst all the same.

"You are so incredibly lucky that I am in an impossibly good mood right now." Yang pointed a finger directly in her face. "And we are getting something for free for all of this."

"Yeah, of course. I wouldn't think of charging you for the purple dye job." Amethyst stammered out.

"Oh no," Yang laughed, "That was obvious. No I don't wanna pay a single lien today after what you did." Yang held the strand of purple hair out in front of her angrily, nearly whipping Amethyst in the face with it.

"Is everyone okay? Ruby what are you doing back here?" the voice of Nora and Ruby's hair stylist from earlier carried to them from the hallway, "I went back to check but you were already gone and I heard yelling- Oh my Oum." she cursed under her breath as she saw Yang's hair, "Miss, I am so unbelievably sorry about this." She said to Yang before turning angrily on her employee, "Amethyst! Did you do this?"

Amethyst nodded her head weakly. The woman turned back to Nora and the rest of them, speaking mostly to Yang.

"I'm so sorry. You're sister warned me and everything and I didn't listen to her. Please, we'll comp your whole visit today. I'll even dye it back blonde if you want me too. Really, I'm so so sorry this happened." she looked like she was ready to get down on her knees and beg Yang not to destroy the little store, but the big blonde girl laughed and put her hand out on the hair stylist's shoulder.

"That's really generous of you, thanks so much." Yang laughed again, "I'll keep it for now though, dying my hair over and over would just hurt it more. This stuff will wash out eventually right?"

"Well, uhh…" the lady stumbled over her words for a moment, surprised at Yang's switch in behavior, "Of course, how silly of me. You didn't sit under one of the hair dryers did you? Where your sister was?"

"No, no I used the temporary stuff. I promise." Amethyst yelped out, probably hoping to prevent any further drama. "It'll come out in like a week max. I swear."

"Oh well, I might just have to wash my hair a million times tonight until it comes out. Who knows." Yang laughed again.

"Right," the stylist and apparently manager or owner of the store laughed nervously and turned back to Ruby, "Let's get those out of your hair so you can all get going." She ushered the tinfoil headed girl back out to the front of the store and into one of the chairs. With quick deft hands the woman removed the foil wraps from Ruby's hair and combed it out so it sat nice and even on her head like when she had arrived.

"Ruby it looks sooo good." Yang bemoaned from beside her, "At least they did yours right." Ruby turned her head from side to side, looking at the deep red tips from every angle. They were solid at the ends and faded evenly up into her hair until it was solid, natural black again.

"It came out wonderfully." the stylist said from Ruby's side, "I'm so glad."

"Oh thank you," Ruby turned and hugged the woman unexpectedly, "I've needed to get this done for so long."

"No, thank you. Again, I am really, really sorry about what happened with your sister." the owner turned to Yang, "I'm going to have to have a serious talk with Amethyst about staying employed here."

"Well she did do a good job." Yang held the hair out in front of her, "If I had wanted this I would be really happy."

"She just needs to work on her impulse control," Nora laughed. She knew a thing or two about training a better impulse control, she might completely ignore what she knew, but she did know.

"Well like I said. Your visit today is totally free. It's the least I can do for a group of Huntresses and one very handsome Huntsman. Especially after what happened." she folded her hands down in front of her and gave a slight bow, mostly just her head.

"Alright, let's go hit the club!" Nora yelled. She was way too excited for them to get caught up in a bunch of apologizing and back and forthing with this woman, they needed to go dance.

"Yeah let's go!" Yang grabbed Ruby by the hand and drug her out the front door, whooping and cheering the whole way.

"Miss, I am sorry about the way my friend reacted." Ren said quietly to the hair stylist, "Here." he handed her a large amount of lien. Probably not enough to cover everything they had done during their visit, but definitely a decent amount of it and far more than his wash and Nora's cut.

"No, no really. I couldn't" she tried to wave it away but Ren folded it into her palm.

"I insist. Honestly." Ren gave her one last warm smile and they turned to leave.

"I love you Ren." Nora leaned up and kissed him once on the cheek, causing a light blush to rush across his face that almost matched the pink in his hair.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Ooooh boy, that was a long chapter (did I really break 7k?) so I'll keep the note short. You will get the club scene don't worry. It's just I had to put a break in because otherwise this chapter would have been way over 10k words so there had to be a break somewhere.
> 
> Hope the salon trip was everything you ever wanted. I like the purple accents, like the eyes and bandana/handkerchief thing on Yang's character and thought she could do with just one more. Real dark purple but with little strands of blonde still in it. If there are any fan artists reading this please help. I can't draw worth a dime but would love a picture of this.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Can't wait to hear what you thought. Also, Saturday can't come soon enough. It's gonna kinda be the return of Clubbin' but in name only, and sorta in spirit I guess. Also, another fun character will be there. Any guesses?
> 
> -Zach


	31. Clubbin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The roads were wide and clear, Ruby's head felt clean and fresh after the trip to the salon and Yang looked really happy considering she had just suffered the travesty of having her precious hair tampered with. All in all it looked like it was going to be a rather fun evening, despite how absolutely nervous Ruby was about it all. Nora and Ren were trotting along happily behind the two sisters and actually holding hands, they were never like this around other people so they must really be having a nice time. The air smelled fresh and Ruby could say that she was really, really happy for the first time in weeks.

"Okay Yang, which way?" Ruby looked excitedly around the block, expecting to see a big neon sign that said 'Club' hanging from a door somewhere. She had always turned Yang down in the past with her offers to go out dancing. She knew she would want her to dress up and wear heels and not bring her cloak. But Nora was right, they were already here so she just got to wear what she had on. That included her boots, her cloak, her combat skirt and her corset over her usual top. She was in her happy place, she felt good, and she was wearing all her favorite clothes so what could go wrong?

"Oh no Rubes, we gotta get on an airship. They don't have clubs in this part of town, ya know?" Yang laughed at Ruby's naivety and walked off towards the nearest airship stop.

"Uhh hey, can we maybe grab some food though?" Nora asked from her spot glued to Ren's side, "I know we're gonna hit the Mistral Truck after but I'm really hungry right now."

"Oooh yeah." Ruby yelled excitedly, "Come on, there's a bakery right over here." She whipped down the road, past Yang off towards a bakery that had absolutely the best double chocolate chip cookies for at least a block or two but stopped mid-air when Yang caught her cloak. She choked on the clasp as she crashed to the ground, "Acghk, Hey Yang!" Ruby stood, coughing and pulling at the clasp of her cloak to loosen it again.

"I think burgers is probably better, don't you?" Yang kept one hand firmly on Ruby's cloak to prevent her from zipping off again and leveled that big sister 'do what I say' stare at her. Ruby crossed her arms in a huff. "I'll get you a shake if you stop being such a spoil sport about it."

"Really?" Ruby jumped at her sister and wrapped her arms and legs around her, nearly tackling Yang into a building.

"Oh yum, that sounds really good. Do you ever dip the fries in the shake before you eat them? If you put lots of salt on and then do that it's so good." Nora hummed in anticipation, literally licking her lips. Ruby thought about it and it was a pretty hard concept, making a chocolate shake better with fries, but she would try it. If Nora said it was good then it probably was. Not everyone agreed with their sense of taste but they did and that's what mattered.

"Nora, that's terrible." Ren said flatly at her side. "Neither of those things are good for you." Nora looked up at him in confusion.

"Yes, they are. The chocolate is what makes me so sweet and the salt keeps me from getting too soft." Nora poked him in the nose with a smile and Ren just shook his head, exasperated but not upset.

"Alright, burgers it is." Yang released Ruby's cloak and headed down the street towards a sign for a burger place. They all filed in behind her and were there in just a few moments. The line wasn't overly long and it wasn't a very long wait before they had placed their orders and found seats at one of the plastic booths around the edge of the room.

"Really Ren? Protein style? Isn't that more like a wrap than a burger?" Yang looked at him in disbelief.

"Yes, this already isn't a healthy dish. The least I can do is have it without the bun and add some extra lettuce." Ren said calmly. Ruby let her attention drift a little and she stared at the couple who was so lovingly embraced and yet interacting with everyone else perfectly well.

"You really gotta cut loose some time man, let yourself go a little." Yang nudged him in the shoulder. "Maybe take an example from your girlfriend here." Ruby watched as Ren smiled ever so slightly and Nora chuckled loudly. They were so different but so in sync the two of them, it made her happy just to see them like this with each other.

"You'll get to see Renny cut loose don't worry," Nora laughed and hugged close to Ren, nearly wrapped around his arm with her fingers laced through his. It was exactly that kind of clinginess that had annoyed her so much with Jaune, true they weren't kissing or anything but still, they were really close together. For some reason though, it didn't bug her at all. It was just nice to see them like that, to see how much they cared for each other and how happy they were to be together.

"Guys, I really don't want this to sound weird. Really, really I don't. I mean I know how I was but I want you to know I don't care and that I'm just asking because it's weird and I wanna know. It isn't embarrassing me at all." Ruby tried desperately to frontload her statement with as many qualifiers and apologies as possible because she did not want to offend either Ren or Nora but it had been bugging her since they were back at the salon and she needed to know. Everyone watched on patiently as Ruby mustered the courage to spit it out, "Why are you two so lovey dovey today? You said you try to not be like that right? But today you are way more than usual."

There was a short moment of silence and then both Nora and Ren laughed, breaking the tension that had been building in Ruby's chest. She was so worried that perhaps they were just more relaxed or something and that by pointing it out she might make them feel awkward and like they couldn't be a couple around her. She didn't want them to feel that way, whatever they were comfortable with was really fine. They weren't making out or anything and she doubted they ever would in front of others, so it should be totally fine.

"Oh Ruby, you don't know? I thought we told everyone." Nora laughed and leaned on Ren heavily. The way they were able to be with each other but not separate from everyone, Ruby smiled as she realized that was really what she was looking for.

"Today is our anniversary." Ren grinned wider than usual, overcome with happiness, "In a way at least." Yang and Ruby both squealed in delight and surprise. They had definitely not known about this and if they had they would have done something, or gotten them something or anything. An anniversary was a huge deal, especially for a couple as young as they were.

"Oh that's so adorable." Yang laughed out loud, "How many years as it been for you two?" Yang looked incredibly happy for them, long strand of purple hair obviously forgotten.

"It's been ten years." Ren said as calmly as ever. Ruby was so happy for them she could explode, so happy in fact that it took her a second to do the mental math and her face scrunched up in confusion. Both Ren and Nora laughed and giggled good naturedly at the sisters' confusion.

"It's not the anniversary of how long we've been dating sillies." Nora pulled away from Ren just enough to sit up on her own but left her hand firmly in between his. "Today is the day that we met exactly ten years ago when we were both seven."

"Oh my Oum, of course you two remember the day you met. That is just like you." Yang's laughter rose in volume as she enjoyed the happiness both her friends had. Ruby saw though that Nora's smile dropped a little and Ren's usual neutral face returned.

"Well, we have a lot to remember about that day. But we try and focus on having met each other and just hold on to that." Ren's small smile returned though nowhere near as large as before.

"Orders 75, 77 and 78. Your food is ready," the teenage employee at the counter called out.

"We'll get it," Nora sang out and pulled Ren bodily out of the bench and off towards the counter. Ruby looked to Yang worriedly as they trotted off, Nora skipping and pulling Ren along behind her.

"Okay, I don't know a lot about them, but maybe we just shouldn't bring that up again." Ruby tried to whisper as best as she could so they didn't overhear. She also was trying to hurry though, they would be back any second.

"Nope, totally agree. Changing the subject now to something happy like puppies or rainbows." Yang grimaced and shook her face to reset herself, try and think happier thoughts. Ren and Nora returned carrying the platters covered in food, shakes, burgers and fries as well as two patties without cheese, layered with tomatoes and lettuce and onions and wrapped in an overly large lettuce leaf with a cup of water for Ren. "Alright Ren, I gotta admit, that doesn't look half bad." Yang grabbed her food and pulled it to herself.

"Thanks for grabbing it guys," Ruby grabbed her single burger, bag of fries and chocolate shake that Yang had bought for her to celebrate her first trip to the club, "So how do I do this?" She held out the fries and shake towards Nora in askance.

"Well that's easy," Nora reached forward and pried the lid off of Ruby's shake easily without taking the cup from her hands, "You just take off the lid, dip the fries in the shake," she grabbed a few fries from Ruby as she spoke and plunged them into her delicious looking mixture of milk and ice cream, "and eat it." She tossed the fries in her mouth with a giggle and pulled back before Ruby could protest.

Ruby scoffed at Nora's blatant food thievery but quickly recovered as she realized she had almost literally asked for it. She pulled her food back to a hopefully safe distance from Nora, side eyed Yang cautiously and repeated the fry dipping. She had to admit the mixture did taste way better than she thought it would. The way the sharp flavor of the salt stood out in the chocolate really was quite good.

"Yep, yep. You're totally right. That's delicious." Ruby smiled at her redheaded friend who was already halfway through her burger.

"I tolf you it wash." Nora managed to say around a full mouth, halfway through chewing.

"Nora please chew at least a little more before you talk." Ren requested and went straight back to eating without waiting for a response. He didn't really care if she did or not, he just had to always remind her that everyone else wasn't quite as comfortable around her antics as he was. Ruby was reminded again by the way Nora smiled at his little reprimand just how well the two of them worked. She was sure of it now, that kind of mutual bond is exactly what she was looking for.

"Nah ish cool," Yang also spoke with her mouth full and then swallowed, "We can do it together." She reached over and high fived Nora before they both returned to their food with renewed vigor. Ren and Ruby both sighed and ate at a perfectly normal pace, though Ruby did keep dipping her fries in her shake as she went, it was kind of addicting.

It didn't take the foursome long to finish their food and head back out into the city. Through sheer luck and absolutely no forward planning of any kind they managed to arrive at the airbus station just as the ship pulled in for a soft touchdown. Ruby was full but not bloated, she knew she would get nervous at the club because people and dancing and crowds and right, there was also dancing. Nora had made sure to mention that to her. Ruby had never really danced before.

The airship carried them over near the bay, but, not quite into the industrial district where she knew Junior's club was that Yang usually went to. They landed on the commercial side by where she had ended the double date with Jaune and the couple they were with now after the whole thing on the beach. She tried to push that memory as far out of her mind as she could and just enjoy the night as it was. She had enough to worry about right now without dredging up all of that stuff she had just managed to get over.

"So Ruby, you ready to go crazy?" Nora spun in a tight circle on one foot as they walked, throwing her hands up in the air in sheer happiness.

"I don't know." Ruby pulled at the edges of her cloak nervously. Yang sidled in next to her and dropped a heavy, reassuring arm over her shoulder.

"You're gonna be fine, just have fun and enjoy yourself. Plus, don't worry. You'll probably never see anyone here ever again so who cares if something happens." Yang patted her on the shoulder and stepped away again, letting Ruby have a little room to breathe.

They continued down the block, with the beach on one side and the city of Vale on the other. Little shops lined the boardwalk and were mostly closed up by now because all the tourists were gone and there was no point in selling sun block and kites when the sun was already well below the horizon.

It was already dusk when they left the burger place and by the time the airship landed the street lights had burned to life and the moon was coming up over Beacon in the distance. The whole undamaged side of their celestial partner was facing them tonight, just a few loose pieces drifting about near one edge as they finished their rotation. These nights happened sometimes, where the moon wasn't quite flawless because there were still a few shards in sight and then tomorrow they would already be starting up on the other side again so Ruby never got a quite perfect moon. Not every thing could ever be perfect all the time, not even the moon.

They came to an intersection and Ruby got her first glimpse of what was probably the club. Extending in a long line out of one particularly bright alley were a bunch of people, humans and faunus all done up in party dresses and stylish clothing. It was way beyond anything Ruby had ever been to and most of the people looked rather bored to be there. The line was long and the whole time they moved down the block towards it, it never budged.

"Oh Yang, I don't wanna just stand around out here." Ruby whined, expecting her sister to say something about this being part of the experience. She understood, kind of, it was a Friday night and lots of people probably wanted to get in, but that just meant there was somewhere all these people weren't. Like curled up back in their dorm room in their pajamas playing a game or reading a book or maybe even sleeping. Those sounded like pleasant alternatives to standing outside in an alley doing nothing.

"Don't you worry little sis'. We don't wait in lines." Yang lifted her shoulders, walked with confidence and pulled at the front of her shirt a little, exposing a tad more cleavage than usual. Nora giggled and skipped along beside Ren. Ruby sighed, she knew this was how her sister was, but she really didn't like it when she used the way she looked to get her way. It was really degrading and she was better than that.

"Really Ruby, we'll get right in, just watch." Nora's smile never faded and even Ren who Ruby knew didn't come down with Yang and Nora often seemed to be happy enough. Ruby took a deep breath to steady herself and followed her big sister's lead as they strode right past everyone in line and directly to the front door. It was just a simple brick wall, no fancy ornamentation or large glowing sign to indicate where they were. Ruby would have assumed this was a stockroom or a backdoor to another shop if she hadn't been told otherwise and seen the huge line of people outside.

There was a big burly man standing by the front door and Ruby giggled to herself. He looked like he was trying to appear intimidating but she knew from how he stood, where his shoulders sat, and the lack of aura radiating off of him that any of them could deal with him in the literal blink of an eye. He noticed their approach and jumped a little, trying to maintain his professional, imposing demeanor for the other people in line but obviously shaken.

"Hey there pal, how ya doin' tonight?" Yang strut right up to him and planted her hands firmly on her hips. Ruby was getting a better idea of why they never waited in line and it had a lot less to do with how Yang looked than she had thought.

"Ma'am you have to go to the back of the line." the man folded his hands in front of him and Ruby wasn't sure if was trying to appear calm and collected or if he was guarding his crotch, probably the second one though. Yang cast a long, forlorn look over her shoulder the way they'd come and then turned back to the man, her lip quivering with a pout.

"But that's so far. I'm sure we could just slip in and no one would notice." Yang lowered her voice now, "Or everyone might notice when I leave you right here on the ground and go inside anyways." The man shivered and clenched his hands a little tighter, definitely guarding his _manly_ bits.

"I'm so sorry," he started, his voice wavering slightly, "I didn't recognize you with the new purple in your hair. Please go right on in." He stepped off to the side and opened the door for them. Ruby was immediately assaulted by pounding bass and screaming music from inside. Lights flashed from every direction, spilling out into the darkened alley from inside. She couldn't see very far beyond the entryway but she understood immediately why Yang and Nora loved it here and was thankful she had never come before. Yang motioned them to go inside and dropped a hand onto the man's shoulder menacingly.

"You don't dare mention my _new_ hair again, got it?" Yang growled and the man nodded weakly. She released his shoulder with a smile and followed everyone else inside.

Right on the other side of the door, a man in a suit motioned Ruby over politely and requested her ID. She handed over her huntress in training ID without hesitation since Yang and Nora had both warned her about this ahead of time. He checked it quickly and attached a bright yellow wristband to her arm to show she was underage, thanked her for her service as a huntress and ushered her inside. Nora, Yang and Ren were waiting right nearby and she hurried back over to them.

"Okay what do we do?" Ruby had to raise her voice to be heard over the music. Yang didn't respond and just waved her over towards the lights and the music, pretty much exactly where Ruby did not want to go. Wasn't there a quiet corner somewhere, or a part with less flashing lights and maybe some comfortable chairs?

They pushed out towards the dance floor and then Yang took a sharp turn off to the side. There were a few small tables scattered randomly about with lots of room in between. They were high enough that you didn't need to sit to be at them, so high in fact that Ruby felt a tad short when she stood at the empty one Yang chose. Lots of people were milling about, leaning on support pillars, gathered around the tables or just standing off to the side. They were all dressed in incredibly bright colors, glowing wristbands and necklaces, even body paint. Ruby looked over her black and dark red clothing and felt very out of place.

"Alright, ready to go dance?" Yang asked the table at large. Why had they come over to a table if they were just gonna leave right away? Ruby figured that at least this way she would have somewhere to get back to if they got separated on the dance floor.

"Wooo!" Nora pumped both hands in the air and dashed out towards the mass of glowing, pulsing bodies in the center of the room with Ren in tow. They disappeared into the throng but even over the music Ruby could still hear Nora's whoops and hollers. At least she didn't have to worry about losing her in here.

"Come on Rubes, it'll be fun. You just gotta dance. It's kinda like fighting but don't hit anyone. You got this." Yang leaned in closely enough so that only Ruby would hear her words of encouragement. Ruby looked out at the dance floor, looked at the excitement in Yang's eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay, okay. You can do this Ruby," she chanted to herself. "You've got this. It's no big deal." Ruby stood from her seat and strode as confidently as she could at Yang's side out towards the dance floor. She tried her best to look relaxed, taking nice even steps, keeping her arms straight down at her sides swinging in time with her legs.

"You gotta loosen up." Yang lifted both her hands above her head and began to rock her head and hips to the music as they walked. She made it seem so effortless, the way all the different parts of her body moved as one but in different directions all at once and in time with the heavy bass beat thumping through the room. "Just feel it Ruby." They broke through the edge of the crowd and Ruby did her best to move through the people and follow Yang as she danced. Yang let out a howl of excitement and began spinning side to side as she walked, moving her body more and more as she got into the feel.

Ruby watched her sister move and tried to analyze it, tried to break it down like a fighting technique so she could copy it but she couldn't find a real pattern except the beat of the music. She always moved in time and the beat didn't change. Even from song to song it really stayed the same. Eventually Yang stopped pushing deeper into the throng and began to dance in place. Ruby looked around and realized Nora had been right, no one was watching her. She took a deep breath and held it in, then released it slowly and relaxed her muscles as she went, like meditation.

The beat, she had to start with the beat. Ruby tapped her foot on the ground with the beat and closed her eyes, she tried to feel the rhythm as best as she could. She kept tapping her foot and started nodding her head forward at the same time like she was head butting something over and over and over again with her forehead.

"Yeah there you go Rubes. Come on, you got it." Yang cheered from her side. Ruby stiffened a little. She hadn't even been doing anything really yet and Yang was watching her. It was so embarrassing, she really wished she had some time to practice and figure this all out before they came so she wasn't learning in the middle of a room full of strangers.

She forced her breathing to steady and started tapping her foot and rocking her head to the beat again. The song began to fade and another came in. She promised herself that during this song she would start to actually dance. She kept with the song for a little while, trying to figure out what else to do but it just felt so awkward and like she looked silly. She refused to open her eyes and see how much better everyone else was than her at this.

"The counter syncopation makes you want to dance" a robotic voice said in time with the music. Another beat started up opposite the bass, is was higher pitched and made the song feel kind of bouncy. Ruby kind of understood what the robot man was saying, she could sort of bounce back and forth between the two beats, she felt the tapping of her foot start to go up her leg and shake her hips a little.

"Feel the bass." the voice said again, "Surrender your booty to the bass." Ruby listened to the first real instructions she had been given all night and let the tapping of her foot shake her hips and her butt with the beat of the music. She could feel it now a lot more than before and her hips started to move her torso.

"This is the hook, it's catchy, you like it." the voice kept in perfect time with the song and Ruby lifted her arms just to her sides and started to let them move with her body as she bounced back and forth with the beat. She felt silly but she felt good too, like she could do whatever and as long as she kept moving it would be okay. She kept her eyes closed because she was sure Yang was laughing at her but this was all she could think to do so she just kept doing it.

"Wooooo!" Nora screamed and Ruby's eyes flew open. Ren and Nora were right by them now and both dancing what Ruby had to consider was really well. Ren seemed like he really enjoyed this and he was really good. He had his eyes closed too but he was moving his body a lot more than she was. He would swoop down by the ground and spin and twirl and move his arms and legs in weird jerky motions that still looked really good. She understood it even less than she understood what Yang had been doing but she knew it looked awesome. "Yeah Ruby, go." Nora yelled again and Ruby realized that even though she had opened her eyes she hadn't stopped moving. She hadn't been thinking about it but she had been dancing the whole time.

"It's catchy, you like it." the voice repeated and Ruby had to admit, the song did sound really, really good. She squealed and spun in a little circle with her arms out to her sides and then kept dancing. It took her a beat or two to find her rhythm again but once she did she fell right back into her little hip shake, head bob arm wiggle dance.

She stayed right by Ren, Nora and Yang for a few more songs. It was kind of hard to tell because they had these weird transitions and sometimes she wasn't sure if it was a new song or just a different part of the same song but it didn't really matter because she kept doing the same dance the whole time. The other three changed a lot, they had all sorts of different things they could do. Ruby wanted to try but she also didn't want to forget how to do the hip/arm wiggle she had down and so she stuck to it. After what she figured was three or four songs Ruby stopped dancing and waved at her sister and friends to get their attention.

"I'm gonna go sit down," she hollered over the music, hoping they could hear her.

"Are you okay?" Yang leaned down and nearly yelled right in her ear but Ruby could still barely hear it over the music.

"I'm fine. Just need a break." Ruby screamed back.

"Want me to come with you?" Yang asked, still right by her head. Ruby just shook her head in response and waved another farewell to their little group. They all waved back and went right back to dancing. They really looked like they were having fun and she didn't want them to have to stop just because dancing was way more tiring than she expected. What was it about moving like that? She could run miles and miles and train for hours but twenty minutes of dancing had her breathing heavy. It was probably just because of how muggy it was in the group of bodies. She could get some air by the table and then she'd be fine and go back in and find them again.

Ruby found their table from before and it was still deserted. There were more people in the club now, but if anything there were less people by the tables than before. The mass of bodies had grown a lot though and was spilling off the sides of the dance floor into the rest of the club. She slid around to the side of the table where she could face the dance floor, just in case the others came out and rested her arms on the table. It was still really tall and she felt like leaning on it, with her arms all the way up by her chest made her look really short. She stepped away and tried to think of a better way to stand but couldn't. So, she found the nearest pillar and moved to lean against that instead.

She listened to the music and looked around the club while she tried to catch her breath. The lights flashed in time with the music and pulsed through every color she could think of. This is the kind of place that wouldn't have survived the great war if they had lost and look how much fun everyone was having. Ruby smiled as she realized that as a huntress she was carrying on the legacy of the people who had protected things like this, like her and Yang's dad, like her Mom. That man had thanked her for being a Huntress too. Did he realize what he was really thanking her for?

"Hey there." A cheery voice said beside her and Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin. She had been watching the dance floor and not looking anywhere else. It was so loud in here she hadn't heard this girl approach. She had to be more on guard than that, just in case something happened. She took a deep breath and turned to see who it was.

The girl beside her had a huge smile and even bigger hair in big tufts on either side of her head. She had a tattoo or body paint or something on her arm but it made a rainbow that wrapped up from her elbow almost to her shoulder. Her hair was all a deep red color except for two little bits dyed blue right in front and was she wearing a collar? She was, it was a big white collar with an oversized gold bell.

"Uhh hey. Hi." Ruby started awkwardly and waved to the girl who was less than a foot away from her. She was about Ruby's height, had bright green eyes and seemed to just radiate energy.

"Your hair is soooo cute," the girl chimed and moved in closer. She shot a hand up and felt the tips of Ruby's hair so suddenly Ruby didn't know what to do so she just fell back a step, trying to use the pillar for support. "Oh I'm sorry!" the girl yanked her hands back and threw them behind her, way away from Ruby.

Ruby glanced back at her hands, waiting to see if she would do anything with them again. She saw something move behind the strange girl and tensed up, ready for anything. She pooled her aura in her feet just in case she needed to dart away on her semblance. She saw it flash by again but the girl's hands never moved.

"Oh my…" Ruby gasped as she realized what it was, "Do you have a tail?" she threw her hands to her mouth in shock. She had never met a Faunus with a tail before. It kinda explained the collar that she was wearing if she was a faunus, but, at the same time Ruby felt like that was kinda of being rude to her own kind. She couldn't imagine Blake doing something like wearing a collar. The girl crossed her arms and her face went from pleased and apologetic to upset and angry.

"Yeah I do. Why, can't I party here too?" the girl started to turn away but Ruby lunged out after her shoulder and just barely missed grabbing her.

"No, no I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Ruby shouted and the Faunus girl turned back around, "I just…." Ruby stopped as she thought about how to mention Blake without mentioning Blake, "I have a friend who is a Faunus and she doesn't have a tail. It just caught me off guard." Perfect Ruby thought, that way she could just say she meant Velvet, everyone knew Velvet was a Faunus.

"Oh really?" the girl's arms were still crossed and she didn't exactly look happy, especially compared to how she had been before.

"Yes really." Ruby was upset she wouldn't believe her, how could she convince her? Ruby whipped out her school ID and showed the girl, "See I'm a Huntress student up at Beacon. We have a lot of Faunus students there too." Ruby tried to give her the best winning smile she could.

"You're a huntress?" the girl shouted in delight, automatically switching back to over the top energy. "I'm a Huntress too!" she shouted again and pulled out an ID that said she was a Huntress student from the academy in Atlas. Wait, Atlas? She did not seem like she was from Atlas, Weiss was from Atlas.

"You're from Atlas?" Ruby asked incredulously. Maybe she was a transfer student like Weiss was to Beacon.

"Oh yeah," the girl laughed easily, "Not everyone from Atlas is a stuck up, high and mighty Schnee." the girl scoffed. So it was probably better not to mention that Ruby's partner was exactly a stuck up, high and mighty Schnee. Not just any Schnee either, the one and only, always perfect, Weiss Schnee.

"Well I think your tail is really cute too." Ruby said, hoping to keep this strange girl on her good side and not switch her back to angry mode. "What's your name?"

"I'm Neon Katt." the girl yelled happily, "What's your name?" Ruby realized they had both just looked at each other's IDs and not checked their names. That seemed really silly but then they had both just met another huntress in the middle of a crowded night club.

"I'm Ruby Rose." Ruby stuck her hand out for a handshake just the way her Dad had taught her. Neon glanced down at the big bracelet on Ruby's arm. So now she knew that Ruby was a little girl, but she also knew that she was at Beacon, what was she thinking? Ruby was surprised again when Neon slid forward and threw her arms around Ruby in a tight hug.

"Well it is _very_ nice to meet you." Neon nearly purred the word 'very' and Ruby was reminded of Blake around tuna. This girl seemed really happy to be around Ruby and she hoped she wasn't thinking of eating her.

"So why are you here from Atlas?" Ruby asked once they had pulled apart.

"I'm here for the Vytal Festival of course! That doesn't I can't out on the town a little before everything starts." Neon smiled at her again and lowered her eyebrows a little like she had an idea. "I'm really glad I did too, got to meet you didn't I?" Neon giggled again and put her hand out to rest on Ruby's shoulder. It looked really innocent, like she was trying to balance herself but for some reason it made Ruby feel a little uncomfortable.

"Oh that's cool," Ruby took a little tiny step away, just enough so Neon's hand fell back to her side. Neon took a matching step towards her but didn't lift her hand again.

"Ruby." Yang's voice called out from the dance floor and Ruby jerked her head in that direction to see her big sister coming happily up from the mass of bodies, "Ruby! Are you flirting?" Ruby's face immediately dissolved into a terrible blush and she realized that Neon had been flirting with her, that's why that hand made her feel so weird.

"Wuh? No!" Ruby screamed back, equally upset with Yang and herself.

"Oh hey I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were with someone." Neon threw her hands up by her shoulders and took a quick step back.

"What? No, no I'm not. I mean we're not." Ruby stumbled over her words trying to explain herself. "We're sisters," she finally blurted out.

"Oh really?" Neon spun on her heel and faced Yang as she caught up to the two of them, "Well then hello there big blonde and beautiful." Neon stuck her hand out, fingers extended down like a princess from one of Blake's books. "I'm Neon." she winked at Yang. "And I think your hair is just beautiful, really brings out those eyes." Neon actually purred a little at the end of her compliment.

"Hey there girly," Yang grabbed her hand in a firm handshake and nearly pulled Neon off balance but she quickly righted herself with the help of her tail. "Yang Xiaolong, this one here's big sister." Yang pointed one thumb back at herself and laughed. "You havin' fun Rubes? I can just go off somewhere if you two need to be alone." Yang winked at Ruby and her blush deepened.

"No! I mean yes. Uggh." Ruby grabbed at her cloak, "Don't go anywhere, it's fine. I'm not flirting with her." She said, staring at the ground, face as red as her cape.

"I don't mind entertaining the both of you." Neon stretched her arms out and pulled them in a little closer. Ruby pulled back a little and Yang just laughed it off.

"Ya know, I think I might actually stay here." Yang pulled her arm out of Neon's grip with one firm swing of her shoulder, "Ruby here doesn't need that in her life quite yet." Ruby was glad Yang had come to save her, she wasn't sure what this girl might have tried if she hadn't shown up when she did.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just go then." Neon spun on her heel and left, she didn't seem to upset Ruby thought as her Faunus tail disappeared into the crowd, just impatient.

"Don't take it too hard." Yang called out after her, "So she was kinda forward wasn't she?" Yang laughed as she turned back to Ruby, "Did she get your scroll number?" Ruby looked up at Yang in shock and then threw her hood up over her head and began carefully examining the patch of floor between her feet again.

"No," she mumbled. She knew Yang couldn't hear her, but she also knew that Yang already knew the answer. Ruby saw Ren and Nora's shoes appear near hers and looked up to confirm it was them and some new, very forward suitor.

"Hey you two. Ready to head back out there?" Nora asked and waved her arm back towards the dance floor. Hadn't they just left?

"Actually can we go back?" Ruby asked, making sure she was loud enough to be heard, "To Beacon I mean."

"Yeah totally sis'. You okay?" Yang leaned down so they were eye to eye, "Do I need to go pummel that Faunus girl?"

"No, no." Ruby shook her head quickly, "I'm just tired, I had fun really."

"Alright let's go." Nora pumped another fist in the air, as excited to leave as had been to keep dancing. That girl's energy literally never ended. Just about the only place Ruby remembered seeing her sleep was in the library and who could blame her, it was the library.

Ruby grabbed onto Yang's arm to ensure they wouldn't get separated on the way out and followed her to the exit. The air outside was cool and fresh compared to the stuffy club and Ruby was amazed to see the moon was already well on its way down into the ocean, maybe only an hour or two of actual night left.

"I am gonna sleep forever." Ruby moaned and trudged down the alley, away from the club and everything inside it. They got to the corner and Ruby started to cross the street back towards the airbus station but Yang pulled her off the other way, "Where are we going?"

"We have to get Mistralian food remember?" Yang pointed further down the block and Ruby saw a big, brightly lit truck with a decent sized crowd milling about in front of it. Ruby's head perked up and she stood a little straighter, her fatigue forgotten as she started to catch hints of the smells coming from the truck.

Once they arrived it turned out that most of the crowd already had their food and was just standing by to eat it before heading off to whatever else they had planned. There were only a few people in line when they got there and from how fast their food came out after they ordered Ruby had to assume the truck was used to much heavier traffic than this. She barely had time to look at the menu before they were up against the counter and being asked what they wanted.

"Do you have those little squares?" Ruby held her hands up to indicate the size, just larger than a one lien coin. "They're like really sugary and flaky." she looked up desperately at the rotund, middle aged man in the window. He looked tired but had a big smile, happy to help her out.

"Oh you mean Baklava? Yeah we have Baklava. That's ten lien for a bag." the man chuckled as he took her money and handed out a small bag of premade baklava. Ruby stepped away to let everyone else order as well. Yang came back with a large strip of meat on a stick with veggies and stuff skewered all over it. It looked really good but Ruby was sure that if she tried to eat it off the stick like that she would just get grease all over her face and probably drop most of the food on the ground.

Nora and Ren came back clutching a small bag just like Ruby's so she assumed they had also gotten Baklava. She waited until everyone was together and then tore into her bag for the little treats. They were just what she remembered, small squares of very thin, layered bread with a glossed sugary coating that crumbled away into sweet bliss in her mouth. They started the short walk back to the airship and Ruby realized that despite everything that had gone wrong, she had a really good night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Okay, so that is for sure the end of the whole SalonDay/Clubbing Adventure… I mean those three chapters on their own are over 20k words…. So yeah that happened. Back to Beacon! Kind of, we're actually going to resume with some good old fashioned Team Training out in the wild. You know what that means? Fight scenes! Which means more long chapters because I love me a good fight scene.
> 
> I have been getting some absolutely awesome reviews lately! Big shout outs to all my regular readers, dongyrn (the one who inspires by writing even better stuff), zachary2 (who shares the coolest name ever with me), boombox94 (the faithfullest of readers), ZHsteven (who is always willing to discuss a crazy theory), and all my new reviewers as of late Aaltair, The Crimson Commando and FiercesomestDefenstrator along with the best internet friend ever AarynWolf! All of you wonderful people keep me writing and are the reason I'm able to maintain this update pace and keep caring. My followers and favoriters too! If it wasn't for all that support I would not be able to keep this up, thank you!
> 
> Can't wait to hear what you all think of tomorrow's chapter. Until then!
> 
> -Zach


	32. Over the Peak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The mountain top was fairly desolate, they were up above the trees and even most of the shrubs had stopped by this point. It wasn't the highest peak around by any means and it wasn't even really a point, more a big flat space where the mountain just stopped, like something huge had cut the real top off. Jaune thanked his lucky stars that he had been training so much harder lately because he really wasn't sure if he would have been able to make it all the way up the mountain last weekend. As it was he was panting and huffing, he made it to the top without embarrassing himself but just barely.

"Oh this is so wonderful." Pyrrha crested the final edge behind him where she had been bringing up the rear of the group, making sure no one fell behind. As always she looked like she had just barely started. Her eyes were big and bright, ready for more and she was still breathing as if they had been sitting in class for the last few hours.

"Isn't it?" Nora asked as she jumped on top of a rather large boulder, "I love being out here in the wild." Nora leapt off the rock, spun around and brought her hammer down on it, shattering it into pieces that scattered everywhere. Most everyone threw their arms out in front of them to ward off the unexpected shrapnel, Ren however just took a deep breath and spread his arms out in a wide stretch.

"The mountain air is very refreshing." He exhaled slowly and watched the sky with interest.

"I thought you guys would like it. I saw this on our very first day from the airship." Yang dropped her back by the remnants of Nora's boulder and rolled her shoulders, "You ready to put it to use?" She knocked her fists together and engaged Ember Celica with a grin.

"I am more than ready." Pyrrha swung her arms out to the side, equipping both her weapon and shield in a single fluid motion.

"Guys, guys stop." Ruby yelled, "We have to pick teams. Uhhh, right Jaune?" Everyone's heads bolted up at attention. Jaune looked over and realized that Ruby had actually just addressed him directly.

"Yeah," he managed after a moment of shock induced silence, "Yeah we gotta pick pairs." Jaune dropped his pack from limp hands and stared for a moment. He shook his head to collect his thoughts and continued, "We want to make pairs from opposite teams, but still keep it balanced. Sooo…." Jaune glanced around at his gathered friends, "Pyrrha and Yang can't be on a team." Pyrrha chuckled and Yang crossed her arms indignantly.

"Well that just means I get my rematch." Yang finally broke into a smile and shot Pyrrha a wink.

"Everything is a competition to you isn't it?" Weiss finally crested the hill behind them all. Why she chose to go everywhere in heels Jaune would probably never understand. How she managed to fight in them, that was a mystery that defied solving. "Can't you just use training as a means of self improvement?" Weiss sat on a rock, that used to be part of a much larger rock before their arrival, with a huff and desperately tried to straighten out her clothing.

"Actually Weiss, a healthy sense of competition can produce much better results than normal training." Pyrrha let her eyes wander from yang to the surrounding wilderness in wonder, "It provides a much needed source of encouragement."

"I," Weiss lifted a single, flawlessly white hand to indicate herself, "Don't require any other encouragement than my own desire to improve." She held her chin high and off to the side, not deeming the rest of them worthy of a glance.

"Pffft," Ruby mocked Weiss, "That's not what it sounds like when I have to get you up for our early training." Ruby doubled over in giggles at her own joke.

"No Ruby, we need proper sleep to be prepared." Yang threw a hand against her forehead in an imitation of Weiss, made even more comical by the fact that she still had her gauntlets on, "Please, just a few more moments and I'll be ready. I swear it." Yang dropped her hand and dissolved into snickers as Weiss stomped her foot in frustration.

"You are absolutely intolerable!" Weiss seemed to literally steam with her frustration, "I cannot believe yo of all people are attacking anyone else's work ethic. You, who does reports in the class before they're due, who skips the reading and skims my notes before tests, who doesn't even take her own notes."

"I seem to get by just fine." Yang waved an armored hand at her dismissively, "And you need to take more accurate notes by the way, you totally missed that section on borbatusk speed to size ratios on Port's last test and I got them wrong." Weiss screamed in frustration and Ruby jumped in between the two of them.

"Hey, hey, hey. How about…." She hesitated as she tried to think of a resolution to their argument, "What if you two fight first?" Both Weiss and Yang pulled back at the suggestion, taken off guard, "Yeah, what if we do Yang and Nora against Pyrrha and Weiss?" Nora leapt into the hair with a whoop and came down brandishing Magnhild with a devilish gleam in her eye.

"I am soooo ready." She sang out and started taking a few practice swings at the open air several yards away.

"That sounds like a wonderful fight, force versus finesse." Pyrrha said as sweetly as she could , probably hoping to dispel a little of the tension. She was always doing things like that, trying to make sure they all got along and that no one stayed angry too long. Pyrrha strut over by Nora but left a wide margin between the two of them so as to avoid her giant hammer.

"I agree," Weiss recovered some of her normal poise and crossed her arms, "You'll see that technique and talent outweigh brute strength every day." She walked off towards Pyrrha, heels landing perfectly on flat rocks or open spaces of dirt, providing her perfect balance as she walked. How did she do that?

"Oh ho ho," Yang laughed, "Oh it's on princess. Come on Nora, let's crush 'em" She jumped over and grabbed her new partner on the shoulder.

"That's a plan I can get on board with." Nora spun Magnhild into its grenade launcher form and followed the other combatants out into the clearing.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Blake asked from behind Ruby and Jaune. When had she gotten to the top of the hill? Jaune knew she was out in front of Weiss but he had never seen her show up, she was so sneaky.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will help them work out some frustration." Jaune tried to laugh but it came out choked. He was honestly worried that they would completely destroy the mountain top in the process. Yang and Nora fighting together was surely going to cause some collateral damage.

"Don't worry Blake," Ruby placed her hands on her hips, "They need this." Blake sighed and they all moved to what Jaune hoped was a safe distance away from the battle ground.

The two teams stood in pairs at opposite sides of the field, Nora with her grenade launcher otu and Pyrrha with Milo in rifle form. It was interesting that both teams had a ranged weapon and a close combat only weapon. Jaune knew that Weiss could create glyphs at a distance but she was much better at working in close quarters from what he'd seen. There was a loud bang from behind him and Jaune hit the ground fast in a duck.

"Gooo!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs, Crescent Rose in sniper form, held high in the air with a small amount of smoke trailing from the barrell. Jaune was really glad to see that she was in such high spirits, today was just what they needed to get their friendship back on track.

A resounding series of booms shook the mountain around them as Nora let loose a barrage of shells at her opponents, pink clouds of dust obscuring the battle field. There was a golden glow from Weiss's side and a flash of crimson parted the pink clouds like a sickle through wheat, cleaving a straight line from where Weiss and Pyrrha had been to Yang's position. The sound of clashing steel rang out and everyone could see Pyrrha, blade to gauntlet with Yang.

To Yang's credit, she had learned from their bout in the classroom. She stayed on the defensive against Pyrrha but it was of little use. Weiss's haste glyph gave the already superior fight an impossible advantage and she pressed down on Yang hard. A series of clangs and reports from her rifle signalled Pyrrha's offensive, Jaune glanced over at Ruby's scroll and saw Yang's aura steadily dropping. He glanced back at the field just in time to see Nora leap into the air directly over Yang and Pyrrha. She whooped and drew their attention just as she brought the head of her hammer down in between them, smacking the ground hard enough to send boulders and sizeable chunks of Earth flying in every direction. Both the other girls had plenty of time to leap backwards and avoid being crushed but she had separated Yang and Pyrrha, most likely saving Yang from an early knockout.

Yang and Nora conferred for a quick second, their words far too quiet to be heard across the gap between them and the spectators but the leapt off with obvious purpose, a plan in place. Pyrrha landed back by Weiss and rolled her spear back into a rifle, firing several rounds at the oncoming foes but landing none as they bounced around the landscape on their advance. Weiss began to summon another golden glyph beneath Pyrrha, the light shimmering beneath her feet but had to leap away as a pink shell landed directly at their feet. Both Weiss and Pyrrha escaped the blast but they were separated now as had apparently been the plan.

Yang met Weiss mid leap with a series of blows aimed directly for her midsection. The heiress was able to raise her rapier into a guard and deflect most of the blows, but not the last one. A vicious right hook snaked around her side and caught Weiss in the kidney. The blow was accompanied by the loud snap of Ember Celica, the force of the impact and explosion sending Weiss sailing into the trees several hundred yards away. Jaune snapped his head around to the scroll and saw she still had ample aura left, but she was out of the fight for the time being.

Nora descended on Pyrrha with swing after heavy handed swing. The Mistralian warrior was forced to dodge and back pedal, not risking even a glancing blow from the massive Magnhild. Nora brought one swing across Pyrrha's chest, trying to knock her sideways but Pyrrha leapt into the air above the head and tapped it down with her sword arm, sending Nora careening off balance. She sprung off the hammer, did a flip over Nora's head as she tottered on one foot and landed behind her. Pyrrha brought her blade into Nora's midsection, then her chest, then her right shoulder in quick succession. Nora stumbled forward from the force of the blows and came around, eyes wide likely with pain and anger.

Yang arrived behind Pyrrha, ejecting spent shells from her weapons as she sailed through the air towards them. Pyrrha stood between the two heavy hitters, shield and sword at the ready. They both charged forward at her, but she was ready.

She caught Yang's punch on her shield and deflected Magnihild up and away with her blade, spun the sword into a spear and swept at Yang to create distance as she brought her shield into Nora's side, staggering the girl. Nora fell back a pace or two and Yang leapt away to avoid Milo's spear head. Pyrrha never stopped moving, rolling her spear back along her forearm into a rifle again and she fired several rounds at Nora to keep her off balance and then turned on her heel to chuck her shield at Yang just as she regained her footing.

Yang saw the shield coming and punched it straight on so it rocketed back at Pyrrha. But the other girl threw herself into the air and turned just over the edge of her own shield, allowing it to sail past her and into Nora, rocking the hammer wielder again. Pyrrha landed with Milo already a sword again and only a few paces from Yang. She met Pyrrha's first few attacks with blocks of her own but couldn't keep up with the pace and before long was getting hit again and again by the sword. In the space of maybe two second Pyrrha overwhelmed her guard and landed multiple successful blows. Just when Yang was about to collapse under the assault, Pyrrha cartwheeled backwards and sprung into the air off her empty shield arm, over Nora's counter attack. It had been coming from behind but that hadn't stopped Pyrrha from dodging it. She extended her arm down as she flew over Nora's head and pulled Akuo back onto her arm.

Nora let the momentum of her swing carry her up and over to land next to Yang. They were both hurting bad even though the plan to knock Weiss out had gone perfectly. Jaune watched as they resumed their attack and thought that maybe it would be better if they did two versus one matches against Pyrrha, except then the numbers would be unbalanced. No, they had to keep everything fair. Just because she was that much better didn't mean they could compensate for everyone else. The rest of them just had to work harder to catch up to her and eve the playing field.

Pyrrha stepped inside Nora's swing, caught the handle against her shield, rolled into Nora's shoulder and grabbed Magnhild by the haft with both hands. She used the momentum of the huge hammer and it's overpowered wielder to spin in circle and throw Nora directly at Yang's incoming fist. The blonde managed to pull her strike in time to avoid hitting her partner but they both went tumbling in a heap. Yang was on her feet first, she bellowed loud enough for Jaune to hear from his vantage point and a burst of flame went up around her.

Yang crouched down to charge and Jaune saw a large black glyph appear, encompassing both Yang and Nora and pinning them to the ground. Weiss had finally made it back to the battlefield and was standing opposite pyrrha with their opponents in between them. Pyrrha smirked and opened up on them with her rifle, firing rapidly at their immobile bodies. Yang leaned back at her knees until her hair scraped the ground, relying on the force of the glyph to root her to the ground and letting the rounds sail over her bare midriff. Pyrrha's dust bullets raced towards Weiss but the heiress was able to throw a glyph up as a shield. However, that disrupted the black glyph on the ground which apparently Yang saw coming.

As soon as the glyph holding the blonde in place faded she fired both gauntlets at the ground behind her head, carrying her through a backflip up and over Weiss to land behind the distracted girl. Nora charged forward to hold Pyrrha off as Yang landed a series of heavy punches on Weiss's exposed backside. The heiress collapsed to the ground in an exhausted and embarrassed heap. Yang's eye remained a fiery red as she flung herself back at Pyrrha.

Nora smacked the ground hard, levering a chunk of ground underneath Pyrrha and launching her across the clearing. Pyrrha lurched forward with the rock and pushed off hard, taking control of the throw. She kept her body rigid as she soared above Nora and threw Akuo straight down at her as she levered her hammer out of the crater in the ground. It smacked directly into her back, the edges pinning her to the ground with her neck trapped under one of the bevels in the shield's edge. Pyrrha rolled Milo back into it's massive spear form and met Yang's charge as she landed. She used the spear's length to hold Yang off at a distance, parrying and deflecting each blow before the shells from Ember Celica could come anywhere near her.

Slowly Yang forced Pyrrha back towards Nora, step by step drawing her closer to her pinned ally. As they reached Nora's feet Pyrrha dove at Yang with the spear, Yang dodged the committed attack and Pyrrha tucked into a low roll, bringing the spear in and collapsing it back into a sword, slashing out at Yang's leg as she rolled past. Yang's leg buckled under the attack and Pyrrha stood into a battle stance, sword gripped tightly in both hands. Yang hollered out in pain and spun around to face Pyrrha. She fired six or seven quick jabs, Jaune lost count, but was nowhere near her opponent. Under the haze of red dust Yang leapt backwards and kicked the shield off of Nora's neck, freeing her. As Akuo sailed through the air, Pyrrha pulled it back to herself with a flick of her wrist.

Jaune checked his and Ruby's scrolls quickly to see where everyone's aura sat. Pyrrha was still nearly full, Nora and Yang were both scraping the bottom of the barrel.

"Wow Jaune, I knew Pyrrha was good but wow." Ruby didn't even glance at the scrolls and just stared out at the battle. "I mean, Yang like the best one on our team. Pyrrha's making her look like a total amateur."

"She is quite good." Ren stated simply, "She relies rather heavily on her semblance though." Ruby nodded and glanced back out at the battle.

"Maybe we should have her fight without it sometime." Jaune suggested. He remembered that Ruby had told him to always find a way to help his teammates improve and that was one way they could help Pyrrha. "I mean, she'll still beat us but it's something right?"

"That would be a good exercise, yes." Ren nodded.

Pyrrha had darted forward to meet both combatants head on, sword clashing against hammer and fist in a lightning fast series of blows, parries, blocks and counters. She never stopped spinning, never stopped ducking, bobbing or weaving.

She ducked one swing from Yang, brought her shield up into Nora's chin and sent her flying, spun and caught Yang's next punch on her blade with her hand up above her head and the length of the blade guarding her entire torso. A flick of her sword arm's wrist was all it took to repel Yang's blow and she countered with a smack from the broad side of the blade and another jab with the edge of the shield. Jaune watched in amazement as Nora hit the ground and Yang's eyes flicked back to purple at almost exactly the same instant, both defeated.

Pyrrha rolled her sword and shield back onto her back and breathed a small sigh. She looked perhaps a little winded but every strand of hair was still pulled tightly into her ponytail, her tiara still firmly in place atop her head.

"Perhaps we should have her wear weighted training gear as well." Ren chuckled quietly and readied his weapons for their fight. Jaune glanced around and realized he would either be paired with Ruby or Blake and didn't know how to make that choice. He really didn't know if he would click with Blake's fighting style, but he didn't know if he and Ruby were ready to fight as partners yet either. She had just said her first words to him in a week maybe ten minutes ago. There was no way they were ready to trust each other in combat.

"So Jaune….." Ruby started quietly as their four other teammates trudged back from the battlefield, all but Pyrrha beaten and tired. "I was thinking about partners and-"

"It's okay Ruby. I'll partner with Blake" Jaune cut her off before she could even get there.

"Oh." Ruby looked at the ground, Jaune realized he should have let her finish. She was just starting to talk to him again and he had jumped all over her, "I was actually," she cleared her throat and locked eyes with him, "I thought you and I could be partners. Kinda like the opposite of what Yang and Weiss needed."

"Uhhh…" Jaune was completely lost. To fight together they had to have total trust and confidence in each other right? That was just about the opposite of what Jaune and Ruby had right now. How could fighting fix that? "If you think it will work. I'm up to try." He managed a small smile for her, hoping it looked more convincing than it felt.

"And do you see what hard work can get for you?" Weiss's high, very annoyed voice carried across the small distance still separating them.

"What? Launched across the mountain and then punched in the back?" Yang's laugh was loud even from this far away, "I mean Weiss. Did you even really do anything in that fight?"

"She was quite helpful. We decided that if she acted more from a support-" Pyrrha started but another laugh from Yang cut her off.

"You played support by choice?" Yang laughed again, her progress ceased as she grabbed her knees in laughter.

"Was that why Pyrrha started glowing? I thought she was even faster." Nora's eyes went wide with surprise. "How does that work Weiss, can I try it some time? Could you use it on me for like studying so I could get done really fast? Are you tired after that? Does it make me more tired than if I did it normally."

"What Nora? I didn't get any of that." Weiss shook her head and then looked back at Yang, "And would you stop laughing. You lost didn't you?" Yang partially recovered and looked right at Weiss.

"Yeah, but would that have been different if it was two on one? I don't think so." She glanced across at Pyrrha, "I mean did you see her? She was a straight up super huntress. Pyrrha you should just go pro right now. You're totally ready." Yang's laughter fell away and she grinned ear to ear at her red haired friend.

"Yang, you're too sweet. I still have so much to learn. I'm very adept at fighting other Huntsmen and Huntresses, but Grimm are very different. I need much more training before I'm ready for the field. Err, we all do." Pyrrha tired to smile as she deferred the praise but it was obvious that such adoration made her uncomfortable.

"So are, we going to fight then? " Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud and fidgeted with the trigger, "We do have to finish up and get back before dark. It's a long way back."

"Right!" Ruby jousted the barrel of Crescent Rose straight up into the air, " To battle!" She cried out and disappeared in a flash of Rose Petals towards the battlefield that was now littered with craters. Blake shook her head with a smile and followed after her at a light jog, angling off towards the opposite side of the field to take her place.

"Good luck Jaune, fight well." Ren nodded his head to his leader and leapt off after Blake.

"You too Ren." Jaune half saluted and made off after his own partner, trying to spot where Ruby had stopped out in the wasteland the previous battle had created. He made it out into the middle of the field and still couldn't find her among the upturned boulders and loose dirt.

"Hey Jaune, so how do you wanna do this?" Ruby's voice came from right behind him and Jaune physically jumped, swinging around his weapons, ready to fight. He saw her standing there, chambering a round and let his shoulders ease down.

"Well, Blake won't be as strong out in the open right? Nothing to hide behind and all that." Jaune recalled their first fight, Blake's strikes from the shadows and ruby's incredible speed.

"Oh no," Ruby said without turning to face him, keeping her eyes down range at their opponents, "She's better in the open where she has room to move."

"Really?" Jaune's face dropped. The same was absolutely true for Ren. When he had room to maneuver around he was almost unhittable. This was going to be a hard fight. "Well, I can't do ranged so do you wanna try and cover me with Crescent Rose while I charge in?"

"I think we should-" Ruby was cut off by a report from Pyrrha's rifle that signalled the start of the match, "Full Frontal!" Ruby screamed and flashed forward, carried on the wave of energy from her rifle and a stream of rose petals. She grabbed Jaune by the arm and yanked him with her, straight at the enemy.

Ruby deposited him a dozen or so yards in front of Blake and Ren who were waiting patiently to meet their charge. Jaune hit the ground running, the few times Ruby had done that while they dated having acclimated him to the sensation of sudden acceleration. He bellowed out a warcry as he barrelled directly at Blake. He had to close the gap between them if he wanted to have any chance.

He raised his shield high and caught her first few shots as he charged and then their blades met. The lessons with Pyrrha came rushing into his head all at once. Watch her feet, watch her blade, avoid her eyes. Shield up, chest sideways, sword out, never stop moving. Jaune tried to counter but Crocea Mors hit nothing but block after block and it was all he could do to get his shield up in between them when she lashed out.

Jaune dropped low under the force of one swing, bending his knee to absorb the blow. He glanced up at her torso and saw his chance, under her attacking arm there was an opening, a gap left that could only be hit from below. He never would have been able to get at it if he hadn't kneeled when he was hit. Jaune stabbed straight up and felt the blade sink into something soft. Had he just stabbed Blake? He pulled back as quick as he could, panic clouding his thoughts as Blake dissolved into shadows before him.

"Watch out!" Ruby yelled and Jaune spun around, shield up to catch Blake's attack. He had no idea where it would be coming from or where it would be aimed for so he just tried to shrink behind his shield and hold as firm as possible. Gambol Shroud made contact and he lashed out blindly, hoping to find purchase anywhere.

The familiar sound of Storm Flower's twin barrels rang in his ears as his sword swung through empty air. He reeled forward, the momentum of his missed swing carrying him forward. Jaune swung his shield out behind him in an attempt to counter balance himself but realized his mistake as soon as the shells made contact with his face. Blake had baited him. Storm Flower's furious assault pounded hard against his aura and threw Jaune backwards again, the weight of his outswung shield pulling him onto his butt. Blake darted back into view and pulled her blade across his chest, dragging his aura even lower, then spun around and knocked him in the side of the head with the scabbard. Jaune felt the blow hit him hard, break through his aura and connect with his skull. The world went as black as Blake's hair and he fell back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Hurray, combat! I absolutely love Pyrrha's fighting style but she has so much going on with every movement that it's like impossible to get it through in text. She embodies the 'a picture is worth one thousand words' idea with her fighting. Honestly, you all might hate me, but I'm most sad about what happened with her in canon because it means we don't get to see her fight anymore.
> 
> Also, look at Jaune. Gettin' his ass kicked. That happens man, fighting is hard. Blake and Ren are ninjas. It's cool really, you'll be alright. I'm sure nothing bad will come of you being unconscious on a mountaintop. Hurray for cliffhangers right? I mean it's only one day you have to wait but still, that's as cliff hangery as I get.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, can't wait to hear what you think. Like, how was the combat this time around? Two versus two is a little different than the full team battles and I really tried to play with Jaune's perspective too. During his fight having hardcore tunnel vision and such. What did you think?
> 
> -Zach


	33. Taking Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

"Jaune," a high pitched, overly happy voice called out, "Jaauuneey," the voice rang out again, "You've gotta wake up now." Nora leaned down and poked Jaune hard in the head, jarring him awake or at least to consciousness.

"Hey big guy, you doin' okay?" Yang was leaning on a rock nearby, humor and concern evident in her grin. Jaune groaned and pulled himself up to a seated position.

"Oh thank Oum!" Ruby cried out as he sat up. "Oh I was so worried. Are you okay? How's your head?" Ruby dashed to his side and began examining his head from every possible angle. Yang laughed and hauled her back a few feet.

"I think he might need some room to breathe." Yang lifted Ruby up and sat her on the rock she had been leaning on.

"Well, at least someone is being rational about this." Weiss was standing, as firm and proper as ever beside an incredibly worried Pyrrha. "Who would have ever guessed it would be you?"

"Come on Weiss. If there's anything I know how to handle, it's injuries." Yang laughed and glanced across at Pyrrha who had her hands clenched beneath her chin and hadn't let her eyes wander from Jaune for even a second.

"I suppose." Weiss relaxed her shoulders ever so slightly.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked finally. He hadn't answered any of their questions yet and was just sitting there, rubbing at his head.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he levered himself up on one arm and rose to a standing position. Almost as soon as he was on his feet he wobbled slightly, losing his balance on both feet. Pyrrha rushed forward to support him, one arm at his elbow, the other around his waist. "Oh," Jaune laughed, "Okay, maybe not great but I'm fine." He planted both his feet and smiled at Pyrrha for helping him. She stepped back slightly, leaving one hand on his upper arm.

"I'm really sorry Jaune" Blake stepped forward from where she had been slightly hiding behind the rock and Yang. "I guess I just got a little too into it." Blake clasped both hands behind her back and looked at the ground a few feet in front of Jaune.

"It's okay," Jaune laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head with his hand, pulling his arm out of Pyrrha's grip in the process. "Really, this happens right? No problem." Jaune smiled at her, Blake lifted her eyes just a little to find Jaune but didn't relax at all.

"Yeah, it's okay Blake." Ruby darted over to her side, "He's okay, you're okay. I kicked your butt." Ruby snickered and hopped down from her perch on the rock. Even Blake was unable to repress a small smile, her mouth widened slightly out of the worry induced grimace.

"You performed very well Ruby." Ren nodded from Nora's side. Once Jaune had woken up, she had pulled back to stand with her partner.

"Aww nah," Ruby kicked at the dirt abashedly, "I just did my thing." Ruby never lifted her eyes to meet Ren's, embarrassed by the praise as she was.

"We gonna do any more rounds?" Yang asked, look anxiously around at the two gathered teams. Ruby and Jaune both pulled out their scrolls.

"Well… I don't know." Jaune looked up at the sun, now well past noon and then back down at his scroll with his team's aura readouts. He was basically at zero still, his aura having been exhausted in the battle and now working furiously to repair whatever trauma Blake's blow had done. Nora was still recovering from the fight with Pyrrha, not even back above standard safety levels yet, they had really let them go too far. Pyrrha was doing fine, she walked away from her fight looking like nothing had happened. But Jaune was surprised to see Ren was below the safety limits as well, apparently Ruby really had given them a run for their money.

"Yeah, we already had one person get hurt. We should probably just head back." Ruby flipped her scroll around so Yang could see. Blake was down from her fight, Weiss was still recovering from the battle and glyph use. Yang had started to recover hers, like she always did, but was still only at about half and Ruby was weakened from going two on one with Ren and Blake. "The hike down will be fun though right?" Ruby tried to lighten Yang's mood even though she had just denied her the one thing she knew she loved, another fight.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Yang sighed a little but didn't seem too put out, "I wonder if anyone will be in the gym when we get back?" Yang turned to begin collecting her gear off the ground from where they had left it all at arrival.

"You just don't know when to quit do you?" Weiss turned on Yang, "One of these days you're going to get yourself hurt, and don't come crying to me-" Weiss's tirade was cut off by a high, ear-piercing screech from above the assembled Huntresses and Huntsmen in training.

Before the cry had a chance to fade away the air was filled with the whizzing and clanking of weapons being armed or drawn. Massive blades and hammerheads swinging into ready positions, swords being drawn and guns cocked back.

"Nevermore!" Ruby cried and the group scattered in opposite directions as razor sharp talons tore through the ground where they had been. Team RWBY pulled back away from the clearing as a group, Ren and Nora barely ducked the claws and came up behind the massive avian Grimm and Pyrrha hauled Jaune threw the air to safety a few dozen yards away to the remnants of the boulder Nora had smashed at their arrival.

The talons ripped free of the ground and the Nevermore pulled back into the sky with several rapid flaps of its enormous wings. The bone armor wrapped all the way around its head and along its back and chest in a crisscrossing web like pattern. It had much more shielding than an average Nevermore but the webbing left huge areas exposed, they would just have to be far more accurate with their strikes than usual.

"Stay here Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed and leapt back toward the clearing, she threw her shield against her back and rolled _Milo_ into rifle form. Without hesitation she began firing at the bird as it circled for another pass. Ruby appeared at her side in a flash of petals, _Crescent Rose_ collapsed into a rifle and began firing. Their dust shells sailed true, striking the Nevermore in the gaps in its armor, but it kept barreling forward. Pyrrha and Ruby both ducked behind the rock Yang had been leaning on just moments ago as the Nevermore made another pass, leaving deep gouges in the mountaintop.

"Why is it so big?" Ruby yelled at Pyrrha as they watched the Grimm swoop back into the sky.

"It's an Alpha." Pyrrha turned and threw a few more rounds at the bird as it gained altitude. Yang, Weiss, Blake, Ren and Nora appeared at their sides, ready to fight.

"We have to get it on the ground." Yang checked the rounds in her gauntlets as she spoke, "There's no way we can fight it while it's in the air like that."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Weiss held _Myternaster_ high, tracing the Grimm's path through the air, ready to react if it showed any sign of diving in again.

"We have to take out its wings." Jaune panted as he finally reached the group. He leaned on the rock for support and clutched at his head with his sword hand.

"Jaune, you shouldn't be here. You're hurt." Pyrrha darted to his side and reached a hand out to support him but he steadied himself before she got there.

"Weiss, how far can you launch people with your glyphs?" Jaune turned on the heiress, completely disregarding Pyrrha's show of concern.

"Not very high." Weiss admitted sullenly and let her eyes drop from the circling Grimm to Jaune. Jaune looked around at the gathered combatants and set his eyes on Nora and Yang.

"Nora, Yang. It's gonna be you two. Next time it swings in, you have to get on top of it. Weiss can you give them that gold glyph you gave Pyrrha?" Jaune turned back to Weiss who still looked uncertain.

"Yes, uhh, just one though." She looked sad, disappointed in her own abilities. Jaune nodded his head and looked back to Yang and Nora.

"You take it Nora. I've got more in the tank." Yang gave her a grin.

"You got it!" Nora whipped her hammer back into a grenade launcher as Ren called out a warning.

"It's coming in for another pass." Ren lowered into a crouch behind the rock and leveled both pistols at the Grimm. Ruby and Pyrrha took up positions around the boulder as well, Weiss stood well back and prepared her glyph, showering Nora in a golden light. Yang jumped on top of the boulder and bellowed out a ferocious war cry at the bird as it swept in. Jaune sprinted away again, not wanting to get in anyone's way.

"Oh yes." Nora cackled as her body began to shimmer with golden energy, "I need this more often." She launched two grenades at the Nevermore, striking it directly in the face, and swung _Magnhild_ back out into a hammer. The bone mask cracked slightly above its left eye and the bird screeched in pain but continued its dive bomb. Pyrrha, Ruby and Ren filled the air with dust shells which proved mostly ineffective and Yang and Nora prepared for the jump.

The massive Grimm unfurled its wings to arrest its descent and struck out with both claws, aiming right for the rock that had been the source of so much pain for it. Nora smacked the ground with her hammer, launching herself into the air above the Grimm and Yang lunged directly at its face, hair streaming out behind her like a flag. The talons scraped over the rock, shattering most of their cover, but left the three shooters unscathed and Weiss was forced to roll out of the way as casting the glyph had left her completely without cover.

Yang's right fist connected with the cracked mask, _Ember Celica's_ bang echoing through the forest around them. The Grimm carried on, straight through the blow and Yang flipped off her fist and onto its massive back, planting both feet on the thick armor spread over the feathers. Nora came rocketing down on top of the bird, hammer held high and smacked her giant weapon against the bird so hard it shattered a large section of the armor. The bird's body buckled under the force of Nora's strike but beat its wings at the ground and managed to take to the sky once more.

Pyrrha swung her rifle around to continue firing but Ruby pushed the barrel at the ground.

"No, they're up there now. We can't risk that." Ruby yelled.

"Ruby, I won't miss." Pyrrha corrected, "You know I won't." Ruby turned on her, enough anger on her face to prove she was related to the big blonde.

"That's my sister and your teammate up there Pyrrha." Ruby spun _Crescent Rose_ out into it's largest scythe mode.

"She's right. We have to hope they can get it back to the ground." Ren flicked _Storm Flower_ around his fingers and holstered the weapons. Weiss stood panting and checked herself over for injury.

"DId that thing just take a hit from Nora?" She looked up to the sky at the monstrosity above them.

"We have to get through the armor." Blake extended her weapon into its katana form. "Remember Port's lecture?" The group released a collective sigh at her reminder.

"Nora already hurt the mask, if they get it down here just go for the face." Ruby shouldered her scythe, "We've gotta kill this thing fast, before it attracts more." The group nodded in agreement and returned their eyes to the Grimm as it circled above, so high that Nora and Yang were just two colored dots on the black and white expanse of its back.

Yang dropped to a three point stance and gripped the edge of the bone armor beneath her as the Grimm banked hard, spinning around to make another swoop at her friends. Nora was still glowing golden, using the enhanced strength it gave her to wield her hammer with one hand and smack anywhere she could reach as she too held on for dear life.

"It's like it doesn't even notice." Nora bellowed over the howling wind, "How are we supposed to hurt it?" Yang looked around frantically searching for a weak point anywhere on the beast.

"Go for the wings." Yang yelled and dropped to her belly to crawl hand over hand towards one of the bulging wing joints, pumping up and down as the monstrosity wheeled through the sky.

Yang finally managed to reach the joint where the wing met the body and was overly pleased to find that the armor stopped well shy of the bulging knot of muscle and bone. It must have to keep this section unarmored so it could move its wings well enough to fly. Yang gripped the feathers in one hand, braced her feet against the edge of the bony armor and punched down again and again with her free arm, driving _Ember Celica_ against the joint as hard as she could, firing off a round with every hit.

The Nevermore howled in pain and folded the injured wing against its side, sending them all plummeting towards the ground below. Yang never stopped wailing, she wanted this wing to come off and to make sure the Grimm never took flight again. Nora had never reached her wing and decided to straddle the beast's neck instead, one hand buried in the feathers for grip and the other swinging her hammer around wildly as she screamed in joy.

"Oh Oum, here they come." Weiss muttered and ran for cover as the Nevermore plunged straight towards them in an uncontrolled dive. Ruby, Pyrrha, Blake and Ren braced for the impact, weapons out and ready to help if needed. As the giant monster fell from the sky it began to spin, one injured wing dragging more than the other and causing it to tumble through the air. A small yellow dot was thrown out across the sky from the hurtling mass.

"Yang!" Ruby screamed as they all watched her body fly helplessly into the woods. Ruby went to run after her but Blake put a hand on her shoulder.

"She'll be fine Ruby. We have to finish this first." Blake locked her gold eyes on Ruby's silver ones and Ruby nodded her head sullenly but with determination. Blake was right, if anyone abandoned the fight now they risked even more people getting hurt here. Yang was tough, she'd be okay. Ruby watched as her sister's body broke the treeline with a muted crash and turned back to face the problem at hand.

Nora heard Yang yell as she was thrown from the wing but there was nothing she could do. It was taking every ounce of her, now fading, glyph enhanced strength to stay where she was. She collapsed _Magnhild_ against her back and held onto the feathers in front of her with both hands. The ground rushed up to meet them and Nora let out a scream of panic and excitement as she was launched through the air and off the creature.

Rocks and dirt were thrown into the air by the impact, Nora's yell barely audible over the sound of rending dirt and cracking rocks under the Grimm's body.

"Did we get it?" Jaune screamed from his and Weiss's hiding spot.

"I don't think so." Ruby yelled back, scythe at the ready. Their doubts were answered as a hail of debris was thrown around them, the beast shaking itself loose from the screeched as it stood on it's hind legs, one wing hanging limp and useless at its side, the other fanned out in an impressive display of size. It was by far the largest Grimm any of them had ever faced and now they were face to face with it.

The assembled warriors loosed a battle cry and charged straight at their foe. Weiss and Jaune even entered the fray from their position of relative safety, brandishing their swords and running forward bravely. The Nevermore swept out with wing and beak, meeting the warriors at every turn. Pyrrha and Ruby took to attacking its still mobile wing, jumping and leaping at the exposed flesh and swiping away at any part of the appendage they could reach. The beast buffeted them with huge winds turned up by its wing and fired its own feathers at them as razor sharp projectiles.

Ren and Blake attacked from the weak side, going at the injured wing and trying to reach its face like Ruby had instructed. The bird was so tall that even their impressive agility was incapable of getting them there in a single leap. Every attempt to scale its body ended with them hurtling back to the ground or avoiding the monster's massive beak, picking at them like fresh worms.

Jaune and Weiss for their part did their best to immobilize the creature or topple it over. They charged at the talons and struck at the ankles, battering their blades against the rough hide exterior protecting the Grimm's fragile muscle structure underneath. Even injured as it was the Nevermore managed to kick and strike at them with its feet. Not entirely able to hold them off but preventing the two exhausted hunters from inflicting any significant damage.

Roby swung _Crescent Rose_ in a wide arc, severing feather missiles out of the air in front of her and charged directly through the gap she had made on a wave of rose petals. The Nevermore reeled back and away from her first swing and swatted at her with its wing. Ruby tucked over in the air and landed nimbly atop the bone of the wing, using the beast's own body as a runway. Pyrrha swept in from the other side, coming straight at the creature's chest, _Milo_ out in spear form and cocked behind her shoulder. With a bang she hurtled the spear at the creature's face and Ruby leapt into the air to bring _Crescent Rose's_ massive double blade down on it's skull. Both strikes hit home, Ruby's scythe sinking into the crack Nora had made earlier and _Milo_ Burying itself deep into the Grimm's eye.

Ruby yanked her blade free and let her momentum carry her over to the beast's injured side where Blake and Ren were ready to meet her.

"It's skull is too thick. We need Yang or Nora up there." Ruby screamed at them as she landed. Ren cast a saddened glance at Nora's latent body resting on a pile of dirt in the distance and Ruby looked out at the trees Yang had snapped on her way down.

"We can handle this." Blake said with more confidence than they were used to hearing from her, "Let's drive Pyrrha's spear further in. There's no armor on its eye." Blake gestured up at where the spear was still jutting from it face. Pyrrha lifted her hands and began to focus her semblance to return her weapon to herself.

"Pyrrha don't!" Ruby yelled and darted towards her as fast as she could, pushing herself hard to hopefully stop Pyrrha from getting rid of their one advantage. Pyrrha turned as Ruby yelled, puzzlement on her face. Ruby saw the wing before she did, a massive black appendage swooping down behind her. "Noo." Ruby cried as the wing made contact with Pyrrha's back and launched across the clearing into a rock.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune screamed. He ducked a kick from the Nevermore and ran towards his fallen partner. "Please be okay. Please be okay. You better be okay." Jaune muttered under his breath as he sprinted. He reached her and pulled her out of the fissures her body had made in the boulder. She groaned and sat up in his arms.

"Is that what it's like when I floor you?" she asked, her voice strained but her body clearly intact.

"Oh no," Jaune chuckled in relief, "No, he barely tapped you."

Weiss's strength was failing her, the fight with Yang and Nora had completely drained her and she really should not have used that glyph on Nora. She had poured far too much of her own aura into the redhead and now could barely summon enough energy to keep up with this beast. Ruby, Blake and Ren were doing an admirable job of keeping the bird's more dangerous parts distracted but with Pyrrha gone they were starting to struggle. Dodging the feet had been a lot easier too when she had a partner down here with her. Now that she was alone, the talons were scraping much closer than she felt comfortable with as she ducked and rolled, stabbing at its ankles all the time.

The bird screeched again, a noise so loud it hurt Weiss's ears and she could only imagine what it did to Blake. With a mighty effort, the massive Grimm leapt backwards through the air, propelled only by its leg muscles. As it soared backwards and away from them it swept its wing across it's chest, unleashing a barrage of feathers with razor sharp tips. Weiss remembered initiation and how she had saved Ruby from just such an attack. It was ironic to her that this same creature might be the end of her. She stabbed her blade into the ground and poured every bit of strength she had into an ice shield. Channeling her final bits of aura into the dust to protect herself from the rain of death the beast had unleashed.

Feather tips came piercing through the ice but the frozen wall held together, keeping the points from ever scraping the heiress's porcelain skin. She breathed a sigh of relief and released the barrier, letting the dust dissolve away. Just to be faced with the beak of the Oum-be-damned bird coming straight at her. Weiss threw her rapier up in a guard, too low on dust and aura to do anything else and just hoped Blake would forgive her for how she treated her, hoped Yang knew she never meant half of what she said, hoped Ruby would grow up and take charge. She braced herself and stared her coming doom in the face.

"Not today bird brain." Yang launched herself at the Grimm's face, clenched both hands together like a hammer and brought her strike down on the back of Pyrrha's spear, driving the blade all the way out the bottom of the beast's head and into the ground. Her glowing mane of hair whipped out behind her as she tumbled past the bird to the sound of Yang's gauntlets going off reverberating through every bone in Weiss's body. The Nevermore's beak was less than a foot from her chest, immobilized by the spear now extending from its eye socket to the ground beneath. Without a noise the huge body started to dissolve away, fading into black ash and dust that rifted away on the wind.

Yang collapsed to her knees on the opposite side of its head, having fallen there after her strike hit home. Her hair faded back to its normal yellow and the red haze drifted from her eyes, revealing deep purple again. She collapsed to the ground, covered in scrapes and cut, blood running freely down her leg from a tear in her shorts. Weiss moved as fast as she could to Yang's side.

"You dolt, how did you let yourself get hurt?" she fell to her knees by Yang and supported the other girl. "Do you have any idea how long it's going to take you to recover from this? Not to mention your poor clothes." Weiss fretted over her partner's sister. She pulled the shorts up past the cut and tore a long piece of white fabric from her combat skirt, using it to tie the wound shut.

"I told you snowflake, it's fine. If I can handle one thing, it's getting hurt." Yang wheezed an attempt at laughter but settled for a groan as she leaned back into Weiss's surprisingly strong arms.

"Oh shut up you, and you owe me a new skirt." Weiss said as she tore another length of fabric and wrapped it around a long cut on Yang's arm.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Okay, so like I told a lot of you who reviewed last week. This chapter was rather experimental and after edits and edits and re-edits I'm really still not happy with it. I don't think I have ever read a fanfic that handled Grimm combat extremely well. I mean, let it be said that I read mostly shipping fics and comedy romance stuff so obviously not the focus but still. So, I tried to go a little different direction with it and see how it worked. The third person omniscient viewpoint seemed to work rather well to me, what did you think? Did the combat work? Perhaps I should have started with a real Grimm and not my own made up 'Alpha Nevermore'. Who knows. Please tell me what you thought!
> 
> So, we got some more ship building going on here. A couple different irons in the fire right now. What are you betting on? What do you want to see? What do you not want to see? Does it matter at all or is the story already done? Find out on Thursday =P (no seriously, no matter what you say I'm already done writing the story so it's fine)
> 
> Can't wait to hear from you all, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> -Zach


	34. What A Mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

 

The sun was irritatingly hot for this late in the day. It was nearly evening already and it seemed as if the day's heat just refused to leave. Weiss shifted the Beacon Cafeteria bags hanging from her hands to a slightly more comfortable spot, one where they didn't cut into her palms quite so much and turned to see how Yang was doing. Her right arm was splinted and held up in a sling, but the blonde had refused to be useless and was carrying three two-liter bottles of soda in her left hand, the necks all pinched between her fingers. It was her stubborn headedness that had gotten them in this situation in the first place.

First, Yang went and got herself hurt. Who would bring down the beast they were flying on without having a landing strategy first? Apparently Yang would. Then, she had refused medical attention when they returned to campus. Insisting that everyone else be checked before herself, even though she was the only one bleeding. Nora was fine, she woke up during the walk back and was no worse for wear, having been lucky enough to land in upturned dirt and not on a rock somewhere. Pyrrha had enough aura left when she was hit that it completely absorbed the hit, she had just been a little stunned. But Yang? Yang Xiaolong ended up requiring a splint for her arm, stitching on her leg and extensive bandaging over what seemed like most of her body. It was mostly to prevent infection while her aura healed her, but she still looked like she was wearing a cheap zombie costume. The medical staff said her aura should have her healed and back in class by morning, but had still recommended an evening of bed rest to recover. That was when Ruby declared Team RWBY slumber party night and demanded they all join Yang for a night in the dorm room, eating junk food and watching bad movies or playing video games or some such activity.

Honestly Weiss was just glad she and Blake had the room to themselves on Friday because the peace and quiet, the companionable silence, the muffled flipping of book pages, that was an enjoyable way to spend an evening. It had also meant that Weiss had actually managed to get ahead on her studying and homework. She had finished her reports for Oobleck's and Port's classes, got her things in order for Dust Mechanics and even had time to read up on some fighting styles she hadn't had time to properly examine otherwise. So, Weiss was actually looking forward to an evening of relaxing with her team, just as long as the sisters could manage to not be too intolerable.

Ruby had pulled rank on them and demanded sugary beverages and piles of junk food for that evening's activities. She said something about it being the best way to recover from their horrific experience with the Alpha Nevermore. When they were deciding who would go get the supplies, Weiss had immediately volunteered. At least if she went along, she could make sure there were things she would want to eat among all the candy and cookies. Then Yang had demanded that she come along as well, instead of feeling useless in the dorm doing nothing. So now here they were, Weiss carrying enough food for four people and Yang trudging along behind her with a stupidly huge grin on her face. At least she looked like she was feeling better already, that was good. The way she looked after she jumped out in front of the monster, the mess her hair was in, the blood soaked through her clothes. That had terrified Weiss.

"Yang…?" Weiss realized she had been staring as Yang caught up and felt as if she had to say something, but halfway through the other girl's name remembered she hadn't thought of something to say. "Thank you." Yang grinned at her and lifted the bottles up by her face.

"What for these? I'm sorry I can't do more." Yang laughed, "Makes me feel kinda useless, only having one arm." Yang chuckled good naturedly and finally caught up to Weiss. Weiss turned and walked with her, slowing considerably to match the injured girl's pace.

"I didn't mean for that. Though you really should have let someone else come so they could actually help." Weiss was trying to thank her but didn't see the harm in pointing out her obvious mental lapse at the same time.

"Nah, and leave me alone with Rubes right now? She wouldn't be letting me do anything. She'd probably have me laid up in bed and be forcing me to pet Zwei for his healing properties." Yang looked off at the dorm room window in the not so far distance. Weiss had to smile at that, it sounded exactly like what Ruby would do and petting that adorable little fur ball could not possibly hurt. It had always helped Weiss in times of distress, so it should be good for Yang too.

"Yes, well." Weiss cleared her throat, trying to get them back on track to what she had meant to say. She came up with it to fill the space in their silent walk, but now that she couldn't get it out she felt like she had to. "I _was_ going to thank you for saving my life today." Weiss refused to look at Yang, embarrassed that she had needed saving in the first place.

"Oh don't mention it Snow Flake." Yang grinned at Weiss's instant grimace. Did she use those name specifically to irk her? That had to be the case because it was the only reaction she ever got. "That's what we're here for right? To protect each other."

"That's true," Weiss had to agree with her logic, "Still, I obviously appreciate it and I wanted to make you aware." Weiss granted Yang a rare smile. It wasn't that Weiss didn't smile very often, at jokes or at accomplishments. It's just that she didn't very often smile _for_ someone else. She hoped Yang realized the import of that.

"So Ruby seems better doesn't she?" Yang hefted the bottles in her arm slightly, readjusting them as Weiss had done with the bags earlier.

"Do you need me to get those?" Weiss looked down at the bottles. They did seem to be bothering Yang and she could certainly slip them into one of her bags or find a way to carry them.

"No, I got 'em." Yang gripped the necks of the bottles tighter in her fingers to prove just how in control she was. Weiss shook her head in resignation, stubborn headed fool.

"I agree though, Ruby and Jaune appear to be handling things much better now. Somewhat like mature human beings." Weiss turned her attention back to the walkway in front of her and decided the best way to ignore how hurt Yang was and how adamantly she refused to acknowledge it was to not look at her and her bandages and her sling. At least the medical bandages looked much cleaner and proper than the scraps of Weiss's skirt tied around her wounds had.

"Yeah, I'm glad really. It would have sucked for Ruby's first relationship to end really badly." Yang sounded almost sad.

"Yes, and if they had been unable to reconcile, team trainings would have been very awkward." Weiss tried to laugh at her own joke but Yang just sighed, "What? That wasn't that bad was it?"

"Wuh? No. Sorry." Yang sounded even more distant than before. Weiss glanced over and saw that she was still watching the dorm window. "I just… I worry about her ya know? Like, I thought she and Jaune would be good together but she couldn't handle it. I don't know."

"Well Yang, she just barely started dating at all. You can't expect her to get it right on the first try can you?" Weiss was astounded, given Yang's track record, that she would expect someone else, her own sister even, to get along so well.

"I know. I don't know. Maybe it's just because I'm done with all the playing around and stuff. I just never figured Ruby would have a lot of relationships like I did." Yang shook her head and glanced around them, breaking her visage of the dorm room. "Can we sit down?" Weiss immediately veered over to a bench along the path, set her things down and turned to help Yang.

"Are you still feeling hurt? Her let me take those from you." Weiss reached out for the bottles and Yang laughed.

"I'm fine. It's just, we're talking and if we get back in with everyone else we won't. It's nice ya know?" Yang set her load down easily and lowered herself gingerly into the seat.

"Oh, okay then." Weiss corrected her harried posture and sat next to Yang. This was rather unexpected of her, but she had to admit that she was right. It seemed that whenever they were alone together they could keep a conversation going, but in front of the team it always dissolved into bickering. Just because Yang put her in situations where she had to save face so often. That os Weiss would make some simple correction that the blonde would then blow far out of proportion.

"It's just that I've always been the one that dated a lot and saw a bunch of people, guys, girls, whatever. But now, I realize that was really dumb and it was just a waste of time. I don't want Ruby to do that too. I want her to be with someone that makes her happy all the time." Yang leaned back and stared up at the tree above them, the late afternoon light filtering through the leaves, casting a ruddy glow on her blonde hair. It looked particularly strange on the strand of purple which Weiss still couldn't get used to.

"I don't think you have to worry about that with her. If anything, she may be too serious about dating and that's why it went the way it did. She didn't let the two of them have any fun at all." Weiss crossed her legs and folded her hands neatly in her lap. It seemed more likely now that Yang wanted to sort out her thoughts on her sister and that obviously wouldn't quite work in front of her sister.

"Yeah you're probably right." Yang shifted in her seat and looked at Weiss. "Have you ever dated someone?" Weiss almost fell over in shock.

"Err, that's rather sudden Yang." Weiss composed herself as best she could, trying to cover up exactly how flustered that particular question made her.

"Well I mean, you understand it all pretty well. I was just wondering, since you're rich and all. You probably had a ton of guys chasing after you back in Atlas right?" Yang shifted again to lean against the opposite arm rest, so she was turned completely towards Weiss. Apparently they were going to be here a while.

"Well," Weiss cleared her throat, "I wouldn't say chasing, but yes I did have many potential suitors. Father always wanted the best for me and would constantly introduce me to this company head or that up and coming businessman or his son." Weiss suppressed a shudder at the memory of being introduced to men twice her own age by her father.

"That sounds pretty awful." Yang actually laughed, laughed right in the face of one of Weiss's most shameful memories of her past. "I mean, did you ever actually go out with any of them though?"

"Well, I would be obligated to entertain a first date on occasion but I never extended the charade further than that. None of them ever interested me in that way." Weiss rolled her shoulders back individually to correct her posture. She had slouched while she thought back on her past and had to correct the slip.

"Did anyone?" Yang was still watching her, those purple eyes that perfectly matched the dyed strand of hair were so intense, so focused.

"This is all very unexpected from you Yang." Weiss had no idea where this string of questions was heading.

"Oh, sorry." Yang broke eye contact and looked back up at the tree, "I just got talking I guess." Weiss looked on for a second, watching Yang watch the sky, the leaves.

"But, no. I don't believe I have ever seen any man that way. Definitely none of the boys here." Weiss looked away slowly as Yang's gaze dropped back down to her. She didn't want it to look as if she was avoiding her eye contact, but also did not want Yang to know she had been staring at her. Yang looked but didn't say anything. "I think I may want to try though, if there were someone who interested me." Weiss said after a long silence, it seemed like Yang was waiting for her to say more and the relative silence had been beginning to make her uncomfortable.

"What do you think of other girls?" Yang asked slowly. Honestly, this question did not catch Weiss as off guard as it should have. It's not that she hadn't thought about it before and she knew that Yang had dated men and women before.

"Well. Atlas is very old fashioned when it comes to things like that. Very conservative. So it really wouldn't be accepted by my family or the company." Weiss had to look away from Yang as she continued. "But, that isn't to say I would be opposed to it for those reasons. My father did not support my coming here either."

"So….?" Yang asked hesitantly again. Why was she so intent and knowing all about Weiss's exual preferences all of a sudden?

"Well, I guess it would depend on the woman." Weiss turned and watched Yang's face for any reaction. Was she trying to see if she was interested in Ruby at all or if there was a chance that something may develop between them that was more than being partners. "I would want it to be someone at least my age though. I don't think I could date someone much younger than me." Weiss had absolutely zero romantic interest in Ruby and she needed Yang to know that.

"Yeah, I can understand that." Yang nodded and looked back out into the distance. They sat there for a moment, but without her eyes on her, Weiss felt much more comfortable than before, less pressured. She actually enjoyed the silence they shared, if only she had a book, or if it wasn't so hot out. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back just slightly, trying to enjoy the heat instead of suffer in it, trying to ignore the fact that most of what she could see of Yang was bandaged and splinted. "We should probably head back yeah? Don't want anyone getting the wrong idea." Yang turned and winked to Weiss before standing. She grabbed the bottles of soda from where she'd left them on the ground, winding her fingers in between the necks to grab them all at once.

"Will you at least let me carry those. Here." Weiss shoved an armful of the bags she had been carrying at Yang and took the bottles from her. She slipped the remaining bags over her elbow and hefted all three bottles with both arms, clutching them to her chest.

"Woah, woah alright." Yang laughed and took the bags with her good hand, lifting their weight with ease.

"You are so stubborn sometimes, honestly." Weiss huffed as she readjusted the unwieldy load in her arms, trying to press the bottles together in such a way that they wouldn't slip. "Can you not take a hint?" Yang just laughed again and motioned for Weiss to take the lead. Which she promptly did, strutting out ahead of Yang at a pace she was sure would leave the injured girl behind.

Apparently much of Yang's earlier slowness had been due more to her thoughtful state than her injuries though, as she easily kept pace at Weiss's side, boots clomping along the concrete a harsh contrast to the sharp clacks of Weiss's heels. Weiss refused to deem the oaf worthy of any further conversation and they made their way quickly to the front doors of the dorm building. Weiss reached for the handle and almost dropped the soda, having to pull back quickly to stop from dropping them everywhere. Yang rushed forward and grabbed the handle with her good arm, letting the bags swing around her wrist.

"I got it." she announced the obvious cheerfully.

"Yes, thank you." Weiss pulled her shoulders back and attempted to strut through the door with her pride intact, damaged as it may be. In order to hide her embarrassment she stepped quickly to the stairs, not waiting for Yang to catch up. She just had to make it to the room and then she could hide all this behind a tirade of healthy eating habits and the idiocy of staying up late on a sugar high on a Sunday before school.

Weiss started up the thick, carpeted stairs, keeping her eyes at the goal, the landing at the top of the stairs. Once she was there she could turn around and look confidently back at Yang struggling to make her way up. What would she say to drive her point home, that she was perfectly composed and that Yang shouldn't volunteer to help with jobs she was too injured to do. As the phrase began to formulate in Weiss's mind, the step dissolved beneath her foot, thick carpet giving way beneath her right heel at the very edge of the stair. She barely had time to yelp in surprise as the soda went flying from her arms, hands darting outward to arrest her fall. But, her palms never touched the carpet. There was a thickly muscled arm around her waist, the shopping bag slapping lamely against her leg from where it hung at Yang's wrist.

"Whoa there Princess, be careful. You might lose a slipper." Yang smirked and Weiss was sorry she had turned to look at her at all. Yang locked eyes with her for an instant, mirth fading suddenly to some sort of contemplation.

"You're supposed to help me up now you oaf." Weiss said as evenly as she could despite the growing warmth in her cheeks that she knew was visible under these horrid lights. Yang's lips stretched back into a grin and she pulled up to a standing position, bringing Weiss with her, holding the slim heiress against herself and only releasing her once they were standing completely. Weiss corrected her blouse, pulling it straight again and then looked for the discarded bottles of sugary poison. Of course, they had ruptured and sprayed all over the stairs and walls, of course they had. Luckily none had gotten on her or her clothing though. Weiss glanced to see if even one had survived and was happy to find a sealed one near Yang's feet. She was much less happy to see Yang's legs and feet covered in a dull red cherry flavored beverage.

"You're welcome" Yang said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry." Weiss said as she picked up the bottle from by Yang's feet. Luckily the bags of chips and cookies in the shopping bags over Weiss's elbow had remained intact, though the chips were probably crushed.

"You know, for saving you and all. Again." Yang cocked her head to the side with a grin. The purple dyed strand of hair fell in front of her face whenever she did that and she always tucked it behind her ear. Surely she didn't like that constant reminder that her beautiful hair had been tainted.

"No, I mean for getting soda on you like this." Weiss pointed at Yang's feet as she stood. She really had made an absolute mess of the stairwell.

"No big deal." Yang lifted her feet and inspected her legs casually, "It'll wash off." She smiled back at Weiss, the huge grin not fading even a little.

"Well come on, we should hurry. Now I have to come clean this all and Ruby will probably want more than one bottle of soda." Weiss huffed in irritation and turned from Yang to finish climbing the stairs, making sure to step fully on each step, nearly running her toes into the runner of the next stair every time. She would not embarrass herself further in front of Yang. Not in the next five minutes.

Yang followed behind her without a word. Weiss did not even want to think of what was running through the blonde's head. Surely it was some catalog of jokes to throw at Weiss as soon as they were back in the dorm. To humiliate her for tripping once they had the whole other two members of their team as an audience. She was so insufferable sometimes, even if she did catch her and save her. They reached the door and Weiss now had a free hand to fish her scroll out of her pocket for the lock, since she had left most of the soda back on the stairs.

"Hold up Weiss. I forgot something earlier." Yang said from behind her. Weiss turned to face her, what could Yang have possibly forgotten? How could this little errand run get any worse? She spun on the blonde ready to reprimand her for her inattentiveness but was immediately silenced by a pair of lips over her own.

Yang only held the kiss for a moment, just long enough for Weiss to comprehend exactly what was happening. Just long enough for her arms to unclench at her sides. Just long enough for her to decide that she was perfectly okay with it and for the angry words to die in her throat.

"Sorry." Yang said as she pulled away. "I just-"

"You're going to have to help me clean the stairwell now. Broken arm or not." Weiss cut her off then leaned up and gave the startled blonde a light kiss on the cheek. "Not a word." She returned to the door and let them into the dorm.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Ahhhhhh, that was so short. So short but like, it just had to end right there didn't it? Also, I'm really not sorry about the arm joke.
> 
> Okay, roast me. That was terrible right? Freezerburn is kind of a guilty pleasure I guess. Sue me. But honestly, what did you think? Too cheesy?
> 
> Don't hate me too much. You get two more chapters over the weekend right? Yes of course you do. I don't miss publication dates. Can't wait to hear from all you wonderful people.
> 
> -Zach


	35. Figuring It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Blake sighed and set her novel down carefully on her lap, making sure to hold her page while not rumpling the pages overly much. Yang giggled loudly as she pulled a rather irate Heiress back to herself and snuggled her close. Weiss crossed her arms and turned away, but she was sporting a furious blush and didn't pull out of Yang's zealous embrace at all. Ever since Yang had gotten hurt, those two had been together twenty-four seven. She understood, it was something about the injury and being close and just everything going on that had finally forced the two to snap into place as a couple, but still. They were making it rather difficult to read.

Blake sighed quietly to herself, leaned her head back, closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples gently. They didn't know how loud their giggles and whispered sweetnesses to each other were for Blake. They had no idea how sensitive her ears were and there was no way they could so she couldn't be upset with them. It didn't hurt, they weren't being that loud, but it did make it hard to focus. She just wished it wasn't the case, she wished that they could enjoy themselves and she could enjoy herself all at once. Where was Ruby when she needed her? The leader's little sister antics would surely calm the new couple at least a little.

She let her eyes flutter open, subconsciously squinting against the bright midday sun filtering through the branches of the tree she was leaning against. A single, bright red insect landed on a branch above her and Blake allowed her eyes to focus in on its radiant shell. Solid red with small black spots, the insect crawled a few steps and then continued on its way, wings beating silently against the air.

"Hey guys," a single rose petal landed on Blake's upturned nose. She watched silently as it slowly faded away, merely an extension of Ruby's semblance.

"Hey Rubes, tell your partner to stop being such a sour puss." Yang had Weiss seated in her lap on the grass. Weiss definitely looked perturbed at the arrangement but the fact that she was letting it take place at all meant that Yang should feel downright honored.

"Nooo," Ruby mocked, "You're her girlfriend. That's your job now." Ruby laughed merrily and threw herself backwards at the tree by Blake with a chest full of laughter. "Boy am I glad to be free of that responsibility." She not so quietly mentioned to Blake.

"I heard that." Weiss's angry retort was cut short by a kiss on the cheek from Yang, an action which seemed to always silence her.

"Eww. No kissing." Ruby threw a handful of grass at them that barely covered half the distance as it scattered uselessly into the air. Yang stuck out her tongue and pulled Weiss away from the harmless grass defensively. Weiss swatted at her arms fruitlessly and they collapsed into the grass together, doing precisely the opposite of what Yang had intended.

"How long do you think they'll be this way?" Blake asked quietly, smiling as she and Ruby watched Weiss angrily disentangle herself from Yang and help her back to a sitting position.

"I hope forever," Ruby relaxed against the tree trunk with a content sigh, "They're so happy right now. Plus it is nice to have someone keep Yang in check." Blake watched humorously along with Ruby as Yang reached for Weiss's waist and was batted away, an authoritative finger poked in her face.

"So, any big plans team leader?" Blake turned her attention back to the brunette at her side. She was wearing her combat skirt and corset, fun loving, adorably happy, and ready to slaughter the creatures of darkness at a moment's notice.

"Not really, no. Jaune and I decided to give Team Training a break for a while after what happened last weekend and I want to let Yang and Weiss have some free time." Ruby lifted her finger to her chin in thought, "But if you wanna train more we can totally do that." she patted _Crescent Rose_ at her side.

"That's okay," Blake took a long deep breath of the fresh air, "We do need some time to relax, you're right." If it meant they got to have more time talking and laughing and less time swinging deadly weapons at each other then Blake could agree with that. Maybe, if the two freshly minted love birds would go on a date or something she could even get to her book.

"Hey Rubes?" Yang and Weiss had rolled over near the tree and while Yang was still laying on the ground she looked incredibly serious, for Yang anyways. Weiss was perched atop Yang's back, feet off to one side, crossed at the knee. She looked incredibly well composed for someone sitting on their girlfriend in the middle of a field. "This isn't weird for you right?" Yang's tone was light but her meaning clear, well at least it was to Blake.

"What? No Yang it's fine. I don't care who you date. I mean, who you like is who you like and it really shouldn't matter to me at all. If it's a boy or a girl or Zwei. I mean, don't date Zwei. He's our dog. But it doesn't matter, just-" Ruby fell short when Weiss flicked her square in the middle of her forehead, "Oww. What was that for?"

"You just compared me to your dog." Weiss crossed her arms in irritation. "The only reason I didn't freeze you right there is because he is just too darn adorable." Weiss's face slowly slid into a stupid grin as she let her mind wander to the puppy currently sleeping in the dorm room.

"No, I meant because you know, she's your partner and all." Yang propped her chin up on both hands. Ruby's eyes shot up from the ground to meet Yang's in shock.

"Oh, oh yeah." Ruby's face turned a light pink, like the early clouds of a sunset. "That's fine." Ruby mumbled, "Just don't kiss in front of me." Ruby threw another handful of grass at Yang, most of it landing on her nose and making her sneeze. Weiss pulled a small white kerchief out of her shirt pocket and wiped at Yang's face with it, mumbling about allergies.

"Well, if you don't mind then." Weiss folded her kerchief neatly away and stood, straightening her jacket and skirt compulsively, "I am going to take your sister out on the town." Yang stood next to her and brushed clumps of dirt and grass of herself. She still had large green streaks on her shorts and bits of grass in her huge mane of hair. Weiss looked her up and down and Yang just smiled like a fool. "After we go clean up a little."

"Oooh out on the town. So fancy." Ruby interlocked her own fingers and swooned side to side, "Are you gonna go for an open air boat ride along the coast and a rooftop dinner with really tiny portions at some fancy place and then walk along the edge of Forever Fall Forest as the sun sets and-"

"Would you stop?" Weiss clenched her fists at her sides and gritted her teeth against each other. "You are seriously the worst." Ruby clamped her mouth shut and flattened her back against the tree.

"We aren't going somewhere with really small portions are we Weiss?" Yang looked sheepishly down at the much shorter girl, tucking the now mostly faded strand of purple hair back behind her ear again. Weiss grabbed her hand and pulled her off towards the dorms angrily.

"Not anymore we aren't." Weiss yelled loud enough to be heard as she stomped away, heels sinking slightly into the soft turf with every step. Ruby giggled happily and turned to Blake.

"She better behave with my sister." Ruby's eyes were alight with merriment, none of the anger or worry Yang had when she had talked about Ruby and Jaune.

"I would worry more about Yang behaving with her." Blake covered her mouth shyly as she chuckled, trying to muffle the noise slightly, "Did you know that was the date Weiss was taking her on?"

"Hmmm?" Ruby kicked her feet idly in front of her, "No, but doesn't it sound just like her?"

"It sounded, really, rather romantic," Blake admitted to herself. The idea of boat rides and secluded dinners was something straight out of a romance novel and Blake knew that was exactly what got her heart racing.

"You think so?" Ruby rolled over so her head landed on Blake's knees and stared up into the tree. "I really like the idea of being able to just sit and talk forever. Somewhere quiet like a bookstore or a quiet coffee shop, not like Stardust." Ruby sighed and flopped her arms out to her sides, "But maybe that's just me."

"No, no." Blake kept her voice even as she reassured the precious brunette in her lap, "That sounds nice too, especially the bookstore idea." Blake reached down and slid her book off her lap, allowing the page to flap shut and lose her place. That was fine, she'd find it later.

"So what do you wanna do Blake?" Ruby craned her head back just enough to catch Blake's eyes with her own.

"Well. I'm perfectly happy sitting here. It's so warm and nice. Plus we don't get to just stop and do nothing that often do we?" Blake placed her hand gently on her lap next to Ruby's head, not daring to do anymore. This proximity alone was more than they had shared in a long time and she didn't want to make Ruby uncomfortable. They really never spent anytime as just the two of them and it was nice.

"I guess you're right." Ruby's eyes drifted shut and she yawned. "I think I might take a little _cat nap_." A stupid grin cut across Ruby's features and she repressed a giggle.

"You have been spending too much time with your sister lately." Blake pushed playfully at Ruby's shoulder which just caused her to laugh more audibly. She readjusted her shoulders and pushed her head closer to the center of Blake's lap as her laughter faded out.

Blake breathed deeply, comfortably as Ruby's breathing steadied and it appeared she did begin to drift off into a light sleep. Blake couldn't blame her, the sun was just pleasantly warm under the tree and the branches provided enough shade that the light was dull enough to be able to sleep through. She closed her own eyes and steadied her breathing, considering a quick nap herself. After all, Yang and Weiss would probably be out late tonight so maybe she and Ruby could enjoy reading in the dorm once it was too dark to do so outside. That would be a nice way to spend the evening, cuddled together on Blake's bunk with books. Ruby might fall asleep like she was now and Blake would just curl up beside her and sleep as well.

Blake's eyes flew open as she realized what she had just been imagining. That thought had drifted a bit further than she thought it would and it startled her. Had she just been considering _sleeping_ with Ruby? Yes, of course that was fine. Ruby was sleeping with her right now wasn't she? Blake glanced down at the bundle of black and freshly dyed red locks in her lap. Yes Ruby was sleeping _on_ her but not the way Blake had just been imagining. What Blake had pictured was much more intimate than this.

Blake sighed in quiet frustration and tried to sort through what had just happened in her head. A quiet evening together in the dorm free from both Yang and Weiss's bickering and their new found together on Blake's bed, not something new, not something they hadn't done in the past. Ruby falling asleep as she refused to stop reading even as her eyes dropped dangerously. That was an act Blake was guilty of more often than she would like to admit and one that she had witnessed Ruby fall prey to more than once. Of course, when Blake did it she felt guilty. But when Ruby did it, it just looked so incredibly cute, the way her head fell into the pages of the book as she slumped off to one side, body weak from exhaustion.

She caught herself again, forcing her train of thought to stop as it ventured beyond the realm of friendship and into uncharted territory. Ruby snored quietly, just one little snore and Blake had to suppress a mewl of adoration. She was so cute and that was fine. She was absolutely, insufferably adorable and like a little sister to Blake, was her partner's little sister in fact. Blake stared down at her, coaching her head into some semblance of order and coherent thought.

Why was she suddenly feeling this way? Why was she thinking of curling up along Ruby's back and laying an arm over her waist. Why did she have the nearly instinctual urge to lean down and place a gentle kiss along Ruby's brow? Why was Blake so attracted to the girl in her lap? She closed her eyes to hopefully block the image of Ruby's face from her mind so she could think a little more clearly.

Ruby was her teammate and leader, a close friend and roommate as well as being her partner's little sister. They were definitely closer than any two friends usually were but that was the point behind the team system at Beacon. They were supposed to form bonds with their teammates that would carry them through battle, that would allow them to face death together and stare down the darkness side by side. They were not put in teams to go about dating everyone and making all sorts of inappropriate relationships. But, it did seem like that's what was happening, at least for RWBY and JNPR, her closest friends. Ren and Nora were partners because they were a couple, it was the reason they were together. Jaune and Ruby had been dating but Pyrrha was obviously interested in her team leader, everyone but Jaune knew that. Now, Yang and Weiss were even dating which extended the trend to her own team as well. Was it just because they spent so much time with each other that this sort of thing was inevitable?

Blake considered what Ruby may think of this. Ruby's father and mother had been on a team together during their time at Beacon. As had Yang's father and mother. They had actually all three been on the same team. Blake shook her head as she tried to wrap her head around the idea of Yang and Ruby's father becoming intimate with both female members of his team. Then she sighed as she thought of their Uncle Qrow and realized how left out he must have been and possibly why he drank the way he did. Ruby shifted on Blake's lap, rolling her head into Blake's waist and snuggling against her torso, jolting Blake's thoughts back to the situation at hand.

Ruby had been happy for Yang and Weiss, so she wasn't against the idea of intra-team dating. She also seemed to share a lot of romantic opinions with Blake, a focus on emotional bonds, a love of conversation, quiet and personal encounters being superior to loud outgoing ones. Even when she was dating Jaune, she had preferred for them to do quiet things together, not big boisterous ones. Then a red flag flew up in Blake's mind. Ruby had been dating Jaune and Jaune was a boy and she was not. It hadn't even occurred to Blake that she was feeling this attracted to a girl. Blake had never been in a real relationship before. She had no idea what she was attracted to. Apparently she was attracted to Ruby. But, what were the chances that Ruby was like her older sister and would be willing to date either gender? Blake looked down at Ruby's head, slowly opening her eyes to take the little brunette in.

She looked absolutely peaceful and entirely unassuming with her head resting on Blake's legs. She had rolled closer to Blake and pulled her hands up by her head to help support her neck. Ruby was facing Blake's abdomen, eyes closed and breathing softly, only an occasional sound escaping through her nose, like a little hum. Blake felt multiple urges at once, one to run as far as she could and hope these feelings faded, another to shift her body just a little so she could pull Ruby closer to her and maybe lean against her as well, finally, the urge she had to resist the most was that aching desire to brush her lips against Ruby's temple. She couldn't do a single thing she had thought of since that idea about she and Ruby cuddling and reading entered her mind, everything fel tainted now by these new found emotions.

So, Blake decided to go with something she had thought of before those thoughts entered her mind. She lifted her hand from the ground and slowly slid it over to Ruby's head, sliding her fingers gently into Ruby's hair and rubbing her fingertips carefully against Ruby's scalp. Ruby subconsciously pushed her head up and into Blake's hand without waking. Blake felt her breath hitch at Ruby's movement, afraid she would open her eyes and ask why Blake was doing that. Afraid Ruby would accuse her of being untoward and doing something without her permission while she was asleep. But, after that initial movement towards Blake's ministrations, she had relaxed back into perfectly peaceful slumber. Blake slid her hand up along the curve of Ruby's skull to her ear and let her hand rest there, stroking her thumb slowly across her temple where just a little bit of fuzz was starting to grow back from her haircut. Blake reached down with her left hand and retrieved her book from the grass, flipping it open to about where she had left off and tracking down her exact place.

It was a little difficult to hold the book with one hand and her left hand was not her dominant hand which made the dexterous task of flipping the pages with her fingers even more difficult. But, if she could maintain this proximity with Ruby and read at the same time. That would be more than worth the added effort. Blake found her place in her book and picked up with her reading, continuing to trace absent minded little patterns across Ruby's temple. Perhaps if she could just sit here and read like this, with her hand on Ruby's head in an innocent way she could start to sort through the flood of emotions she had been struck with.

They sat for perhaps a half hour, Ruby dozing peacefully and Blake reading in full contentment as the sun drifted further towards the horizon. Eventually it dipped low enough in the sky to slip its rays beneath the tree's protective branches and slant directly into Blake's eyes. She tried to read more, tilted her head to the side to guard her sensitive eyes against the bright light but it was no use. The light was far too irritating to deal with and made it mostly impossible to enjoy her book at all. Blake sighed and looked down at her slumbering companion, she had curled a little tighter to guard her own eyes from the sun but looked restless compared to earlier.

Blake had made basically zero progress on her feelings for Ruby. All she had been able to decide is that she was quite definitely attracted to her in a way that transcended normal friendship. After that Blake had been constantly forced to distract herself as every situation she could put herself and Ruby in alone together took her places she did not want her mind to wander. So she had lost herself in her novel, letting the story consume her attention until the sun interrupted her. Seeing Ruby still sleeping, and even closer than before brought Blake back to reality with a harsh realization. They would be spending the entire night alone in the room together.

"Ruby…?" Blake moved her hand from Ruby's head to her shoulder and tried to gently jostle the younger girl awake. "Hey Ruby, are you awake?" Ruby rolled back completely onto her back and yawned as she opened her eyes. She stretched both arms out along the ground behind her and focused in on Blake. Those shimmering pools of silver looked as if they could see right through Blake and she was sure Ruby knew exactly what she was thinking about.

"Hey Blakey," she said sleepily, "Did I really fall asleep?" She asked and reached up to rub the sleep from her eyes, obviously aware she had just woken up and unaware of the terror and apprehension gripping at Blake's heart.

"Yes you did Ruby. Not that long though." Blake smiled at her and closed the book on her lap, "I just read for a little while so you could rest. You seemed tired." Ruby sighed happily and left her arms up above her head, laid out across Blake's lap. She stared up into the branches, now a deeper green without the sun shining through them. What was Blake going to do with her all evening?

"Blake do you see that little guy?" Ruby didn't point up at the tree but Blake's keen eyes found the bug right away. She couldn't say if it was the same one from earlier, but it was the same kind. "Isn't it a little late in the year for Ladybugs?" Blake would just have to do her best to ignore her feelings for her team leader and act as normal as possible. Her heart panged for Pyrrha as she considered how hard this was going to be.

"No Ruby, I don't think so." Blake looked back down and met Ruby's brilliant silver eyes, "I think it's just the right time."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - So this chapter came out feeling a lot more like a oneshot than a chapter. It could definitely stand on its own I think but also fits nicely into the scheme of the story. What did you think? Also…. A Blake chapter? Yes, a Blake chapter. I like our friendly neighborhood cat Faunus very much.
> 
> Part one of the weekend double feature gave us some insight into how the team feels about Freezerburn. But, tomorrow's chapter will give us a little more on exactly how Ruby feels about it. Hurray Ruby POV!
> 
> Thanks for reading, can't wait to hear from you all.
> 
> -Zach


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Ruby followed Blake into the dorm room, eager to change out of clothes and into some much more comfortable pajamas. Maybe she could convince Blake to watch a movie with her, but Blake would probably want to read since it would be quiet. Oh Ruby still had that book Blake had given her. They could read together. It had been so long since they had gotten to read together. Ruby skipped past Blake over to her bed and immediately began rifling through her drawers looking for a clean set of sleeping clothes to change into.

"Are you gonna change Blake?" Ruby turned from the dresser to Blake who was just setting her book down on the shelf by her bed. Zwei ran over happily to Ruby's side and barked, he nuzzled up to Ruby's leg and she leaned down and patted him on the head.

"Yes, I think I will. It will be nice to relax a little." Blake leaned her head off to the side and gave Ruby one of her rare little smiles. The kind that made Ruby all fuzzy inside to know she was so happy. Blake seemed so serious and sad all the time, Ruby loved when let herself relax like this. She pulled the pajamas she had picked out of the drawer and skipped off to the bathroom to change. She would not be repeating that underwear incident with Blake again, even if it had gotten her a cookie.

Ruby flicked the door casually shut behind her and began unlacing her tight corset. She could feel the pressure in her abdomen easing as the string popped loose, easing down from the top until the last string fell loose and the corset slid off around her waist. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and stripped her shirt and bra off next, flinging them to the side and relishing in the air against her skin. Ruby leaned back against the tiled wall of the bathroom and felt her skin prickle up at the touch of the cold tiles on her back. Wearing battle armor and being combat ready all day took its toll and dressing down in the evening was absolutely wonderful. Ruby sat on the toilet with the lid down and began unlacing her boots. She kicked them off in the corner, slipped out of her leggings and pulled her frilly red combat skirt off so she was only in her underwear.

Ruby stepped back by the mirror and gave herself a slow once over, examining her muscle tone, which was improving since she got to Beacon, her posture, which was nothing like Weiss's, and even her bust, which was nothing like her sister's.

"I guess we get it from our moms." Ruby lifted both breasts in her hands and let them drop lightly against her chest. She smiled, content with everything she had seen and grabbed her pajamas off the ground where she had dropped them. She pulled her underwear off around her ankles and stepped into the overly large sweat pants and slid her baggy t-shirt over her head. Oh it felt so good to just not care and lay around in big baggy clothes. Ruby wriggled her arms and legs, loving the feel of the light cloth bouncing against her skin. She scooped up all her things off the floor and emerged back into the bedroom.

Zwei was curled up on Weiss's bed near her pillow and Blake was already dressed in her night clothes. It was some kind of really fancy like nightgown that she liked to wear on nights when they were spending time together in the dorm room and not just going straight to bed. It was a lot like a robe that stretched from her shoulder all the way down to her ankles and had a brace at the middle that she tied around her waist, almost like Ruby's corset. When they would finally go to sleep, Blake took the outside part off and had a much lighter more comfortable part underneath that she actually slept in.

"You don't have to wear that you know?" Ruby called over to Blake. She loved not having to wear anything serious or care how she looked in their room. Why should Blake? Blake spun around so fast her hair whipped out and hit the side of Yang's bunk hard enough to make a smacking noise. She was blushing furiously and looked like she had been ready to throw her hands up over her eyes because they darted up at her face and the dropped again once she saw Ruby standing there.

"Oh… Uhh." Blake tried to recover herself from whatever that had been, "What do you mean Ruby?" Ruby cocked her head to the side. What had Blake so embarrassed? Had she been reading one of her naughty books that Yang wouldn't let Ruby try?

"I meant your fancy night clothes thing." Ruby pointed at her, meaning to point at her robe. "It's just us Blake. You can just wear the normal part underneath." Blake craned her head back to examine herself, as if seeing the garment for the first time.

"My yukata? What do you mean fancy?" Blake held up her arms, the sleeves hanging loosely at her sides. "It's just what I wear." She turned back to Ruby, her blush now fading.

"No I mean…" Ruby struggled to explain what she meant about comfort. She held up her arms, showing Blake how loose and baggy her clothes were. "Doesn't this look more comfy? You look like you could go out in that thing." Ruby laughed and pointed at her but Blake wore the same puzzled look, so Ruby darted over and undid the bow at her waist in a frustrated burst of her semblance. Blake's robe fell open before she could react, revealing the shift she wore underneath.

Blake immediately clutched at the edges of her dress, apparently her Yukata, and squeezed it shut over her chest.

"Ruby!" Blake spun away to hide what she saw as her indecency from Ruby. "Stop." she was blushing again, "Why would you do that?" She fixed it so she could hold the robe shut with both hands and reached down to pick up the corset part from the ground.

"I'm sorry." Ruby threw her hands up in the air like she was under arrest, "I just. I just wanted you to be comfortable." She took a huge step back and away from Blake. Blake carefully wrapped the corset part around herself again without letting the robe come undone and made sure everything was in place before turning back to Ruby fully.

"It's okay Ruby. Please put your hands down now." Blake leaned her head forward and down slightly the way she did when she apologized. What was she apologizing for? Ruby was the one that had taken her clothes off. Ruby lowered her hands and her eyes.

"I'm sorry Blake. I just. I hate wearing clothes all day and it's so nice to be able to relax and not care in the dorm." Ruby gestured at herself meekly with both hands, not raising her eyes to meet Blake's.

"Ruby, look at me," Blake pleaded and Ruby lifted her eyes sullenly to those judging golden one. "I am relaxed. At least I am when you aren't undressing me." Blake blushed hard but laughed.

"Are you sure? That just looks so uncomfortable." Ruby looked Blake up and down again. It's like she was wearing a dress, a really pretty dress.

"We should get one for you so you can see. They are actually very comfortable." Blake turned back towards her bed and retrieved her book from the shelf and then turned slowly back to Ruby, a trace of that blush still on her cheeks. "What did you wanna do tonight Ruby?" She sat just on the edge of her bed, barely any of her body actually touching it.

"Well, we could do anything we want together right?" Ruby tried to imply that it was open for a movie or a game or reading or talking, whatever Blake wanted to do. She stepped forward, hoping Blake didn't want to just sleep early. "I mean, we could do anything you want Blake." She looked at her with her best puppy dog eyes and saw Blake blush harder. Maybe she had just wanted to sit and read her book, maybe the naughty one so she was hoping Ruby would leave her alone. "I mean, unless you don't want to do anything with me tonight." Ruby turned slowly around, sad that it would be almost like she was alone in the room.

"Wait, Ruby." Blake's hand darted out and grabbed Ruby's shoulder, spinning her back around. She was still blushing but, "Wanna just sit and talk for a while? We never get to talk without Weiss around correcting us or Yang making jokes and stuff." Blake looked off to the side as she offered, probably trying to hide her blush.

"Is that really all that you wanna do Blake?" Ruby asked. She understood if Blake had plans for the evening and she didn't want to interfere so she tried to sound as sweet as she could, to let Blake know she wouldn't be offended if she had other plans. Blake's blush flared up again, probably because she knew Ruby had figured out what she actually wanted to do.

"Yeah really Ruby come on." Blake moved back towards her bed and sat on it with her legs crossed. She patted on the bed opposite of her and beckoned Ruby to join her. Ruby was more than happy to do this if it's really what Blake wanted so she quickly moved onto the spot Blake had indicated.

"So, whadda wanna talk about?" Ruby asked as she shifted into place on the bed. She wished she could lean up against the bedpost at the end so she had something behind her back, but with how Yang's bunk was held up above this one that didn't really seem like a good idea.

"I don't know." Blake rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands, "I know Yang asked you already, but how do you feel about them dating?" Ruby threw herself sideways on the bed with a huff.

"I'm okay with it I guess. It is a little weird though." She poked at the bottom of Yang's bunk but couldn't quite reach the bottom of the bed frame with her finger. "I mean, as Team Leader, I'm totally okay with it. As Yang's sister, I'm totally okay with it. As Ruby, I don't know." Ruby let her arms fall across her face and sighed, unable to properly explain her feelings.

"Ruby? That didn't make a whole lot of sense." Blake poked Ruby in the arm, "Go through each one, one at a time."

"Well. I don't care that two teammates are dating. I think it's awesome they fell for each other and figured it out. I think it bring us closer together as a team and they'll fight and train harder for each other." Ruby let her arms slip back to her sides.

"And as Yang's sister?" Blake asked without moving much, paying rapt attention to Ruby's answers.

"Well I'm glad she's happy and she seems really happy. She's dated girls before and I always kinda liked them more anyways. Plus I don't have to worry about becoming an aunt." Ruby giggled at that last one. She was sure Yang was always really safe and everything but still, with Weiss there was absolutely zero chance of anything. Blake blushed hard.

"Do you think we'll have to like, figure out time to give them the room alone?" Blake asked quietly. Ruby hadn't meant to embarrass her with that, she though Blake was okay with joking and talking about that kind of thing.

"Well I mean it's Weiss. Like you said earlier, I don't think we have to worry about that from them. And besides, it just kinda happens, so if they need to they can figure it out. Like look, we have the dorm all to ourselves right now." Ruby looked over at Blake and saw she was blushing deep red again, stuff like this must really embarrass her. So she would change the subject.

"I guess you're right." Blake finally managed to eek out.

"As just me though. Like ignoring all the other stuff. It is kinda weird to think they're dating and sharing a room with us and stuff. Plus, Yang just makes so many more dirty jokes now." Ruby laughed, her sister's jokes were harmless, they were just frequent and not always that funny. "And, well. Weiss is my partner right? But, now she's dating Yang. So, it's like she has someone else to focus on." Ruby screwed up her face a little as she finally got at the root of what was making her uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" Blake laid down beside her and they both stared at the bottom of the bunk above them.

"Well, I tried so hard to be friends with Weiss at all. What if we drift apart now? I'll just be the team leader then." Ruby held her breath to try and stop any emotions from bubbling up.

"You don't have to worry about that." Blake rolled sideways and propped herself up on one elbow to look at Ruby. "You'll always be Yang's sister and Weiss won't get that wrapped up in her that she'll stop paying attention to you. I mean, you promised to be the best partners ever for each other didn't you?"

"Yeah," Ruby spoke quickly to make sure the small sob catching in her throat didn't have a chance to escape. She really didn't want to cry like a little girl in front of Blake.

"Plus, you'll always be more than just Team Leader to me Ruby." Blake said softly and Ruby rolled over to look at her but Blake was looking off to the side and wouldn't meet her eyes. Ruby finally felt the bubble in her chest pop and she threw her face at Blake's shoulder as a few tears slipped out.

"Thank you Blake." Ruby pushed her face into Blake's shoulder, "Thank you thank you thank you." she hugged the other girl close and felt her arms close hesitantly around her own shoulders.

"Of course Ruby. I told you before I'd be here for you. I meant it." Blake rubbed small circles between Ruby's shoulder blades and after a moment Ruby felt good enough to pull away and wipe at her eyes. She hadn't really cried that much, she had just really needed to hug Blake.

"Sorry," she laughed a little, "This was supposed to be a fun talk wasn't it?" Ruby wiped at her nose and tried to laugh again. She had gone and ruined their friend night together by making it all emotional and weird.

"No Ruby, this was fine." Blake patted her shoulder, "We wouldn't have done this if they had been here. That's what I meant, we got to like bond." Ruby chuckled a little honest chuckle, not forced at all.

"I guess you're right yeah." she laid her head back, "I definitely wouldn't have opened up like that to either of them." she rolled her head off to the side to look at Blake again. "You're the best Blake. Thanks." Ruby darted her head up and kissed Blake on the cheek appreciatively, just like Yang and her Dad used to do when she had done something really well when she was little and she even remembered a few kisses from Summer like that, just a few.

Blake froze up at the contact but she didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry Blake. Was that weird I just…" Ruby went to defend herself but didn't really know what to say. She had just done it on impulse, she didn't even stop to think if Blake would think it was weird.

"It's… It's okay Ruby." Blake started slowly, "Don't mention it." Blake sat up and lifted a hand slowly to the spot Ruby had kissed then leaned down and gave Ruby a kiss on the same spot right on her cheek. "There now we're even."

Ruby felt a rush of heat hit her cheeks almost as soon as Blake's lips did. She did not expect to get a little kiss back like that and she definitely didn't expect it to make her feel like that. Ruby's chest was tight and her breath came short for a second. That was really weird and sudden for just a little kiss on the cheek.

"Do you uhh… Do you wanna read now?" Ruby asked, unsure what Blake would even want to do after that.

"Yeah sure." Blake leaned over and grabbed her book off the shelf. "Do you still have that book I leant you?"

"Yeah," Ruby shook her head to try and bring herself back to the present, "Yeah, let me grab it." She dashed over to her bed, stopping just short of it, like Weiss had asked so she would never knock it down again, and climbed slowly into it. She rummaged through the blankets and pillows and eventually found the book tucked neatly in the corner furthest from where she slept and against the bedpost in such a way that she couldn't kick it off. Wow, she must have really been thinking when she put it here. "Got it."

Ruby climbed down off the bed and pranced back over to Blake, clutching the book eagerly in both hands and holding it out in front of her like a trophy. She jumped next to Blake on the bed and tucked up against the headboard.

"It's really good. You have all of them right?" Ruby asked eagerly. She was on the second one now and there were supposed to be five so she really hoped Blake had them all.

"I'm actually missing the fifth one." Blake admitted abashedly, "I only just finished the fourth one and I didn't realize there was another. I thought they were only making four."

"Really? Ruby asked startled, "We should go get it then." She nearly screamed and took a deep breath to control herself a little better. "Blake, I will buy it for you. Since you showed me the series." Ruby looked at her very seriously.

"You don't have to." Blake waved her hands defensively.

"No really. Let's go this weekend. I want to." Ruby leaned back against the headboard and opened her book. Now that she knew they we're going to get the last one she was even more excited to get into it.

"Ruby, that's too much. I can get my own book." Blake still hadn't opened her novel.

"No." Ruby said curtly, "Leader's orders." She raised a single finger in the air sharply to finalize her point and jammed her finger painfully against Yang's bunk. "Owww." she quickly retracted her arm and suckled on her finger to make the pain fade. Blake laughed quietly.

"Understood fearless leader. How could I ever doubt your leadership." Blake laughed quietly again and opened her book. Ruby didn't mind the laughter, it had been funny. Stupid aura, only blocking things she saw coming, what good was it then?

For a few moments they sat and read together. Ruby was just starting to get lost in the novel, to really start and feel the story when Blake cleared her throat to get her attention. Ruby mentally marked her place on the page and then looked up to Blake.

"You know, you can uhh you can lean on my shoulder or something if you want." Blake looked down nervously, "Sorry I only have one pillow. I guess you could grab one off another bed too." Blake looked over at the pile of pillows on Ruby's bed and the two serene ones setting neatly at the head of Weiss's bed.

"Really?" Ruby immediately turned herself and rested her back against Blake's arm and the pillow she was leaning on, tucking her head into the hollow of Blake's shoulder, "Oh that's soo much better." Ruby hummed happily and returned to reading her book.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - So…. was that a little evil after how the last one ended? Just imagine what Blake is thinking throughout this chapter. Ahh, I very purposefully chose who narrates which chapters.
> 
> All in all though this was a fun one I think. I just love these simple interactions between the two of them. They are what I love about Ladybug, I think they would be the best homebody couple ever. Just chillin' together and reading and talking and cuddling and stuff.
> 
> What do you guys think? Do you like Ladybug? Am I doing a good job with them here? What did you think of the chapter? Can't wait to hear from you. (even you, person reading this months after I post it. I want to hear from you too)
> 
> -Zach


	37. Falling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The brilliant red leaves fluttered around them, falling lightly from the branches of the beautiful Forever Fall trees. The way they persisted, through the hottest summers and the coldest winters was simply incredible, a testament to the fortitude of nature. Pyrrha pulled in hard through her nose, taking in the strong scent of the forest around them. She still vividly remembered their trip here as a class to help Professor Peach with research, tapping the trees alongside Jaune, having to get twice as much as any other group to make up for what Nora ate. It was a fond memory she held.

"What are you thinking about?" Blake asked quietly, politely from her side. These walks they took together were another thing Pyrrha treasured. The two quieter girls had found early on that their dispositions were more than compatible. Sometimes, they would spend a few hours together, an entire day even and say barely a word. They just relished in the presence of someone else who never judged them, never assumed anything, and never needed the other. Pyrrha immensely enjoyed the relaxation these times with Blake provided for her.

"I was just remembering the trip we took here, as a class." Pyrrha continued to let her eyes wander the forest aimlessly. She was both absorbing as much of the place's scenery as possible and keeping a constant eye out for Grimm. Not that there was much she believed she and Blake together could not hold their own against, but part of that was remaining vigilant at all times. The Nevermore attack had proven that much to her at least.

"Oh yeah, when we gathered all the sap right?" Blake laughed lightly, "That was a nice day. I'm just glad Nora was the one eating it all and not Ruby." They both laughed again as they continued to stroll through the deserted forest. There should be no chance of encountering any Grimm, not when they were this happy.

"I was just thinking what a wonderful day it was. Even after that Ursa attacked Cardin and his team." Pyrrha's laughter caught in her throat as she remembered the attack. While she didn't like Cardin, it was still never okay for someone to be attacked by a Grimm

"That was the first time Jaune went face to face with a Grimm on his own though wasn't it?" Blake walked calmly at her side, completely understanding why her laughter had stopped. But she knew how Pyrrha felt about Jaune and knew it would cheer her up to be reminded of his success that day.

"Yes, that was." Pyrrha nodded and her smile returned, "He needed just a little push and he handled the rest himself. He's never stopped improving since that day." Blake hummed her agreement, a short, positive noise and they continued in silence for a while more together. Both leaving the other to enjoy the forest and the walk as they would.

"So Pyrrha, have you made any progress with Jaune?" Blake asked after the long gap of silence had stretched on. It had not become uncomfortable by any means, just long enough to warrant a new topic. Pyrrha didn't often discuss her feelings for her team leader and partner with anyone else, preferring to bottle that up inside, but with Blake she felt safe. That was part of the reason she strove so hard to protect the secret of Blake's heritage. It was no one's business but those who Blake deemed worthy of knowing and though Pyrrha had discovered on accident, Blake had been okay with the fact that she knew.

"Well, I wouldn't say I've made progress exactly. I still believe he has no idea how I feel towards him. But we are closer now than we were before, if only as partners. Pyrrha would not allow herself to be saddened by that fact, she must be strong and resilient, like the trees in this forest. Pyrrha straightened her shoulders, "I guess that could be considered progress though. A step down the path towards a more...uhh...intimate relationship."

Blake didn't chuckle at her use of the word intimate, or make a joke as some of their teammates may have. Instead she nodded her head in understanding and kept pace with Pyrrha. They shared a much briefer silence this time as Blake mulled over what Pyrrha had said as she often did before replying.

"I don't think that's a bad thing at all." Blake said after she had thought it over sufficiently, "I think that a strong relationship should be built on a solid friendship first. " Blake hummed in thought again before continuing. "Have you tried to spend much time with him alone outside of training? I know that you two spend hours in the gym or the sparring rooms or on the track. But what about eating separate from your team, or giving Nora and Ren a night alone by going out somewhere. Those could be considered completely platonic ways to spend time but could help to deepen your relationship further."

Pyrrha took a moment to consider that suggestion herself before she said anything. She was so interested by the idea that she actually stopped walking completely and stared up into the canopy above them. Blake walked a few paces further and then stopped and turned, giving Pyrrha the time and space she needed to think properly. Should she take that step with Jaune to try and push their relationship deeper? Was that even a good idea?

"I'm not sure." Pyrrha's shoulders slumped down again, "I just don't know if I should be the one to push things. He just got out of his relationship with Ruby. I wouldn't want to be inconsiderate of his feelings or of hers." Pyrrha looked at the ground.

"Pyrrha, can I tell you something. Something I feel like I shouldn't, but that you need to know." Blake took a step back towards Pyrrha, showing how sincere her offer was, how dear the secret.

"Blake if you feel that it's a secret." Pyrrha began to protest but in all honesty truly did want to know what it was Blake had to say, especially if it pertained to her affections for Jaune. She did not want to press Blake or seem too eager but she also wanted to avoid dissuading the already cautious Faunus girl.

"Well, when Ruby was thinking about how she felt about Jaune. Her biggest concern was getting in your way, it was the one thing she wanted to avoid because she knew how you felt about him." Blake continued softly, not hesitating on Pyrrha's warning. Pyrrha's hand flew to her mouth in shock. She knew Ruby was aware of her feelings, but to hold back her own care for the boy on her account. That was an incredible act of kindness. "She came to me and told me that she would not date Jaune or even entertain the idea while you were interested. She didn't want any part of it."

"But…" Pyrrha fumbled over herself. Had she done something to indicate to Ruby that she was no longer interested in Jaune. Had she expressed a dislike of him at anytime, perhaps Jaune had picked up on the same signal that Ruby had and that's why he wouldn't believe now that she was interested in him.

"Actually, I had to convince her to even say yes if he did ask her." Blake wrapped her arms around her middle, wrought with concern over what emotions this revelation may elicit from her friend. She stood stock still, waiting for Pyrrha's response. Pyrrha had to breathe deeply not to scream in frustration, she wasn't mad at Blake. She was just mad at the situation.

"You were just trying to help Ruby be happy. I understand Blake." Pyrrha stepped towards her and held her arms out wide, welcoming the other girl in. Blake stepped forward as well and met Pyrrha for the hug, embracing her friend.

"I'm really sorry. It's just. It was eating at her so much. I thought they would work out, I thought they were supposed to be together. I didn't mean for this big mess." Blake said solemnly into her ear and Pyrrha knew she meant every word.

"Blake, it's okay. It's okay. She deserved every chance, same as me." Pyrrha continued to hold her friend, not letting her escape with the idea that any of their current situation was at all her fault.

"I just wanted to see her happy." Blake finally pulled away from Pyrrha, the frown gone from her face but no smile there yet. "I couldn't stand how sad she was."

"Blake, what did it feel like when she was sad?" Pyrrha kept her hands on Blake's arms, holding her close. These next few sentences were important and she didn't want to risk anything interfering with them. "How did you feel when you saw that Ruby was being tortured by how much she liked Jaune?"

"I… I don't know why that matters." Blake turned her head down and away from Pyrrha. She was not usually one to press but in this case she had to, for Blake's sake. She wasn't trying to make Blake uncomfortable, she was trying to make Blake see something.

"It hurt you even more didn't it? It was like a King Taijitu was wrapped around your heart, crushing it into nothing wasn't it?" Pyrrha pulled Blake's shoulders just enough to draw her attention back up to her face. "It was like your breath was being crushed out of you and there was nothing you could do."

"Yes, yes it was okay." Blake pulled out of Pyrrha's arms. "I'm in love with her and I don't know what to do about it. I don't know when it happened but I know it's not going to stop." She wheeled back on Pyrrha. "How did you do it Pyrrha? How did you know how you felt for so long and do nothing? I've barely known for a few days and I can't stand it. Waking up in the morning and she's there, coming back at night and she's there. All day in class she's right by me. We train together, we eat together." Blake collapsed into a squat, clutching at her head as the tears began to well up. Pyrrha stepped forward and set her hand on Blake's shoulder.

"I didn't deal with it Blake. It crushed me everyday just like it's doing to you. I hid it behind workouts and running, studying and sleeping. I tried to distance myself from everyone so that I didn't have to be close to him. When we trained I was able to separate that because it was fighting. I lost myself in the combat, but every time I came out of it. Every time we finished for the night, he was still him. He still is." Pyrrha dropped to her knees beside Blake. "I never dealt with it Blake. I cried in the bathroom. I used the shower to cover the noise. I laid on my bed for hours staring at the ceiling because he was right there on the other side of the room." Blake raised her head and looked at Pyrrha, tears staining both of their cheeks, leaving little lines in the dirt on their faces from their hike through the woods.

"We're hopeless aren't we Pyrrha?" Blake asked sullenly and Pyrrha somehow managed to laugh through her grief.

"Yes Blake we are absolutely hopeless." Both girls laughed and embraced each other again. They embraced the companionship that their sadness created, the camaraderie of their hopeless loves. They stood and took a moment to gather themselves, both girls wiping away the tears and collecting their better senses.

"Pyrrha, do you think there's any chance that Ruby likes girls? Do you think there's any chance that that might work for me?" Blake looked at Pyrrha, no sadness in her eyes now, but focus. She looked determined to find some sort of answer, some closure good or bad. It appeared that the emotional outburst had done her far more good than it had done for Pyrrha. She just felt drained and tired, like going back would be even harder.

"I do think there's hope." Pyrrha nodded slowly. She wanted Blake to know that these words weren't empty, she wasn't just trying to comfort her. "Ruby, she loves everyone. She has expressed that in so many ways, so many times." Blake began to smile, apparently this was one of the qualities that Blake appreciated in her leader. Pyrrha had to admit, it was an attractive one. "I think that if she sees how much you care for her, if she's that emotion. She will be able to reflect it. I just hope, for your sake, that she can do so romantically. Since that it what you want from her."

"I hope you're right." Blake pulled her back straight and looked up into the treetops. "I think we should make a deal Pyrrha." Pyrrha looked up into the canopy above with Blake, hoping to find the same source of inspiration that she had.

"What did you have in mind?" Pyrrha searched and searched but couldn't find the wellspring of hope that Blake was feeding off of. It must be inside her, so Pyrrha let her eyes fall to Blake. She was tall and lean, stark black against the earth browns and muted reds of the forest. She stood out, strong and bold against their surroundings. That what Pyrrha would have to do, she would have to stand out.

"We need to promise each other that we will pursue our desires." Blake turned and found Pyrrha staring at her. If she minded or even noticed she didn't show it. If anything, the determination in her eyes had only grown stronger. "You are one of the boldest, strongest, most incredible people I know. And yet you are brought to your knees by that blonde idiot." Blake laughed.

"And you are the most resilient, unbowing person I have ever met. But you were right next to me thanks to a fifteen year old girl with pretty eyes." Pyrrha said coyly and Blake couldn't help but laugh.

"So let's go get them." She said proudly, "Let's promise each other that we will chase after the blonde idiot and that little girl." Blake stepped forward and grabbed Pyrrha's hands, "Let's do something for us for once."

"I agree Blake, let's do something for us." Pyrrha leaned forward and the two girls embraced one more time.

Together they both made their way out of the forest and back to Beacon without any further discussion. They both had a goal in mind now and didn't think it warranted talking about any more. Pyrrha and Blake had both made up their minds to chase the object of their foolish affections, for better or worse. It was the least they could do for themselves.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Okay, so there it is. The shortest chapter in the series. Maybe I felt guilty and that's why I put out a 7k word little mini series yesterday, who knows… Maybe that was just a coincidence.
> 
> With that said, this is also my least favorite chapter in the series. Please rip it up but give me advice on how to improve it because Oum knows I tried and I just couldn't find a way that still maintained the purpose of the chapter.
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope to hear from you all.
> 
> -Zach
> 
> P.S. The miniseries is called "Can I Ask You A Question?" and is a quick read. Please check that out too.


	38. Fishy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Downtown Vale was as clean and pristine as ever. With the Vytal festival swift approaching the kingdoms maintenance and cleaning crews had been pulling double shifts for at least a month to ensure that their capital city was presentable and showed the rest of the world just what Vale was all about. It wasn't quite as neat and tidy as Atlas, but it was definitely leagues above the likes of Mistral or Vacuo. But even in some of its lowest times, Vale was better than those terrible places. Weiss turned up her nose as a group of students from one of the other kingdoms rumbled past her team.

"Why are you snooty around them?" Yang squeezed her hand as she asked. She meant well, wanted Weiss to ease up just a little and enjoy herself more. Weiss knew that. But that didn't mean she would.

"Because, not only I am from Atlas. I'm a student at Beacon, as are all of you. They should know they are among their superiors." Weiss said flatly, reviewing not only her girlfriend, but her entire team as she spoke.

"But Weiss. Ya know Pyrrha isn't from Vale right? She's Mistralian, and she's probably going to win the tournament." Ruby snorted out a small laugh and Weiss continued to let her gaze roam between the three of them.

"Precisely, she is the greatest fighter Mistral has ever produced and where did she choose to attend combat school? Here, in Vale, at Beacon. Not in her home kingdom of Mistral." Weiss lifted her chin up and away from all of them as if that simply settled the matter.

"Didn't she do that to get away from all her fans and the whole celebrity lifestyle though?" Blake asked, knowing full well that the answer was yes. But this way she had forced Weiss into a corner which she would have to argue her way out of or look the fool.

"Well I'm sure there was more-" Weiss started but Yang jumped in on top of her.

"Not like you gave her much hope of that huh?" Yang turned so she could face Weiss completely as they walked and began to imitate her voice, "Oh Pyrrha, won't you please be my partner. Together we can dominate the school. Beauty and strength, side by side." Yang dissolved into a furious fit of laughter as Weiss scowled at her.

"I was just looking out for my best interests from day one. It's how I was raised." Weiss tightened her grip on Yang's hand which brought the blonde's laughter to a slow stop, "Little did I know I would wind up with you lot."

"And we're the best you could have hoped for." Ruby swept around her sister to hug Weiss. "Right Weiss? That's what you meant right?" Weiss pushed her away with a single outstretched arm and continued walking. Ruby fell right back into step between Blake and Yang, giggling all the while.

"Something like that. " Weiss turned away so they could not see how flustered she was. Truly she was happy with the team she had been placed with. Ruby was turning out an excellent leader. Blake was a fine teammate despite being a Faunus and was even swaying Weiss's opinion of the entire race. And Yang? Well she obviously was smitten with her.

"Are you guys sure you want us here?" Ruby asked from her spot at Yang's side, though Weiss knew the question was mostly for her as Yang had been the one to insist the rest of the team came along. She knew that Ruby assumed they needed alone time and also that any displays of affection they made caused the younger girl to feel uncomfortable. But, she and Yang had both agreed when they worked this whole situation out that it was more important for them to continue spending time as a team. They would of course have dates as just the two of them and find time alone. But entire days on the weekend? Those were to be spent with everyone.

"Of course we are Ruby." Weiss nodded her head in affirmation, "Just because we are dating now doesn't mean much is going to change." She turned to Yang, waiting for her girlfriend to reaffirm her statement and show they were on the same page here, a united front.

"I mean, mostly the same." Yang drolled, "You will have to deal with this every once and a while." She swept her head around and planted a neat peck on Weiss's cheek, brief and chaste, just a tease for Weiss.

"Ewww, stop that." Ruby swatted at Yang's arm playfully. Weiss knew that her complaining right now was mostly in jest. Little gestures like that, especially under those sorts of circumstances were totally fine. Ruby had more issue with actual physical displays, kissing on the lips, touching, kissing for more than a few seconds or a few times in a row. Those were the kinds of things that actually made Ruby feel uncomfortable and incredibly enough it was Yang who had come to Weiss and asked that they avoid that around Ruby.

"What Ruby?" Yang turned on her with a devilish smile, "You can kiss Blake to make it even." Weiss watched as Ruby stammered and Blake immediately turned away.

"That is quite enough out of you." Weiss pulled on Yang's arm and towed her over to the opposite side, as far as possible from the objects of her teasing. "You keep that up and I'll only have two companions for lunch today." Weiss knew the fastest way to snap Yang in line was through romance or food, but in this case food would have to do.

"Aww Weiss come on?" Yang whined, "You know I was just teasing them. Where were you gonna take us? Don't be like that." Yang leaned down to give her an apologetic kiss but Weiss stuck her finger out and caught Yang on the forehead, pushing her face away.

"Well, I was going to take you all for sushi. But, if it's just Blake and Ruby…" Weiss let the sentence fall purposefully short just to tease her girlfriend. What she did not expect was the rapid, enthusiastic answer from her other side.

"Can we still go for sushi?" Blake asked hurriedly, not even giving Weiss a chance to really let her threat sink in, "I mean, even if Yang can't. Can we?" Blake's eyes were riveted on Weiss, unmoving.

"I suppose so." Weiss was confused. Why was Blake so absolutely excited for sushi. Sure it was good food and a little expensive so Weiss offering to treat them was surely a pleasant surprise but still. Blake was always so quiet and reserved, even more so than Weiss, so for her to be that overt was strange.

"Are you really gonna go get sushi without me? What? Do I have to sit outside?" Yang was playing hurt. She knew that Weiss had no real intentions of leaving her out and that the other two wouldn't stand for it even if she did.

"No, you have to behave yourself." Weiss reached up and poked her in the forehead again, for emphasis. "Can you do that?" Weiss heard Ruby snicker behind her and she could still feel Blake's eyes on her.

"I mean, yeah." Yang lowered her eyes solemnly, "You have to make me a promise though?" Yang left her eyes down and Weiss was intrigued to know what she could possibly want of her, she hummed inquisitively and Yang responded. "You have to absolutely promise," she raised her eyes and Weiss saw that same mischievous glint, "To stop being so dust-damned adorable."

Weiss and Ruby both groaned but it appeared Blake was too far lost in the promise of sushi to care about her partners worse than usual jokes.

"Weiss, you're allowed to kiss her if it makes her stop telling those jokes." Ruby moaned.

"You think that'll work?" Weiss asked, completely ignoring Yang's offered lips. "If she finds out that she can just start telling bad jokes to get me to kiss her, we'll never hear the end of it." Weiss stuck her hand out behind her, shoving a single finger in Yang's face and over her lips to stop whatever terrible joke or pun or innuendo that was about to escape.

"Okay, okay, fine." Yang mumbled through her finger. "Only because we get to go have sushi though." Her face broke into a grin.

 

* * *

 

The sushi restaurant was large and open inside, low backed booths and open tables spaced irregularly throughout the establishment. There was a bar section where you could sit face to face with the knife wielding sushi chefs, but it didn't offer the intimacy or the chance for conversation that the tables did. Once the four girls were seated, Weiss and Yang on one side, Ruby and Blake on the other, it finally dawned on Weiss why Blake was so enraptured with the idea of sushi.

Weiss came for the entire meal, steamed rice, snap peas, green onion soup, fried dumplings, some fresh cut sushi and the more intricate rolls. But Blake's eyes never left the rows and rows of raw fish laid out along the prepping counter. The chefs worked the line with impressive skill and speed, slicing the fish into neat, evenly sized slivers before pushing them down the line to the others who placed them over rice or worked it into the rolls. Of course Blake wanted the closest thing to straight raw fish she could have. Weiss had learned that while the Faunus were definitely far better and more human than she had ever believed in her life. They did still hold certain animal traits that had undoubtedly lead to their reputation.

Blake had cat ears and the impressive hearing that came with them. She had incredible balance, night vision and a propensity for stealthy movement and fast combat. These were all blatant advantages that her Faunus heritage had granted her. She also got distracted by small noises, chased after dots of light, could not resist snuggling into tight spaces or boxes if given the chance and last but not least of the Faunus traits Weiss had observed so far. Blake had an absolutely insatiable hunger for fish in all its forms. Some people liked fish, even loved it sure. But Blake, Blake went absolutely crazy over the stuff. While Weiss was glad she would enjoy the meal, she wondered if an entire restaurant full of the stuff was really the best place for her. She was trying to conceal her Faunus identity after all wasn't she?

"So, uhhh… what exactly is sushi?" Ruby looked over the menu, scrunching her eyebrows together in concentration over some of the harder to pronounce words. It was funny to see how different the two sisters were. Yang probably couldn't pronounce half the words either, much less tell you what was in them, but she would never admit it. She would point to dishes, indicate them by what she could see in the pictures or defer her choice to someone else. Always the image of absolute confidence. Ruby on the other hand was flustered and confused and more than willing to admit it.

"It's probably the best food ever." Blake answered in a rush, "Raw fish on rice. Or even just raw fish all on its own. But that's more expensive." Blake looked through the menu. Eyes trained from years of novels flying through the words. "Then there's rolls too. They wrap the fish up with other stuff in this tube of rice. It's mixes all the flavors together. It's good but you really can't taste the fish as much." Ruby leaned back and away from the unnaturally excited Blake. "Sorry." She mumbled and looked down, embarrassed.

"For what?" Ruby asked innocently, straightening back up.

"Well I got kinda excited. You know. I uhhh... " Blake hesitated to explain herself in public, "I really like fish." She finally said quietly.

"Oh no Blake. That's totally fine." Ruby laughed happily, "I was actually just kinda grossed out by it." she shrugged half-heartedly.

"Grossed out? How could you possibly be grossed out?" Weiss extended her finger across the table at Ruby, "I will have you know that sushi is in fact one the finest and most refined dishes served on Remnant." Weiss glanced around the restaurant they were sitting in. While not shabby or low class in any way, it definitely didn't live up to the description she had just given. "Well, maybe not this place. But sushi is a very high class meal."

"Yeah, it's really good Rubes." Yang smiled across at her nervous sibling, "It's a little weird at first because it's cold but you just gotta try it." Ruby looked back and forth between the two of them.

"I don't know," She picked up the menu and began scanning through it, obviously not knowing what she was actually looking at. "Do they have anything else here? I'm sorry guys."

"Ruby, it's okay." Blake used a hand to lower the menu away from her face so she could see Ruby directly, "You should try it and if you don't like it. I will eat whatever you don't want. I promise." Weiss knew that Blake's offer was sincere and she meant it out of kindness, but she could also see that the Faunus girl was looking forward to the chance at having some extra.

"Okay," Ruby began hesitantly. Weiss jumped in to try and ease her feelings further.

"They have lots of other stuff too Ruby." Weiss flipped her menu around and pointed out the soup and the dumplings and all the things that made a sushi restaurant tolerable, not just one food over and over. "See, the dumplings have like diced veggies and little bits of meat. The soup is just broth but it's really, really good and the snap peas are baked with a hint of salt. They're my favorite." Weiss knew she was starting to ramble but she hoped that her enthusiasm would be infectious and get the better of her partner.

"If you guys say so." she turned to Blake, "I'm still counting on you. I don't wanna waste any food." Blake nodded and smiled eagerly and it was decided. Weiss was glad too because the waitress was just returning to take their order.

Weiss took charge of the ordering since she knew what she was doing. She was certain Blake would be happy with whatever she ordered, Ruby had absolutely no idea and no matter how confident she pretended to be Weiss was not risking letting Yang order anything and getting them some deep fried, cream cheese soaked, unauthentic monstrosity. No, she would order everything, that way they would all enjoy the meal.

"So then we can all just eat off of everything. That way we get more variety and Ruby can try a lot of different kinds." Weiss answered their unasked questions as to why she had ordered the way she did.

"I love it when you take charge." Yang smiled and slid her hand into Weiss's beneath the table. Weiss had to fight the urge to blush and giggle like Ruby. If Yang really did appreciate her taking charge of a situation then the two of them were going to work just fine.

"Really Yang?" Ruby cocked her head to the side, not believing her sister for one second.

"Oh yeah, I like being able to lay back and let someone else handle stuff." Yang threw her arms behind her head and leaned back, "She'll do it better anyways." Weiss cleared her throat to avoid blushing, but scooted closer to Yang all the same. Finally, someone who understood the way she liked to operate.

"Be careful Weiss. Before you know it Yang will be having you do her homework too." Blake teased, taking the rare opportunity to poke fun at her partner.

"Yeah, as much as you want to lay around all day you still have to work Yang." Ruby joined right in, eager to have a partner against her older sister. Yang fell forward, out of her relaxed pose, jostling Weiss in the process.

"I didn't… That wasn't what I…" Yang struggled for a retort. Luckily for both her and Weiss's sake a waitress arrived just then with their soups and snap peas.

"Here you are everyone." She set the platter down in the center of the table next to them and distributed the bowls to each girl individually. "I hope you don't mind. I asked the cook to give you the spicy peas instead of the normal ones. They are just so much better." She set the bowls of peas in the center and it was in fact drizzled in some sort of spicy looking sauce.

""Excuse me, but no it is not okay. This is not what we ordered and not what we wanted." Weiss picked up the dish and handed it back to the girl. "I don't know how you even thought it would be okay to bring us a different dish. You aren't even our waitress, you're just the one bringing out the food." The girl pulled back astounded at Weiss's sudden display of authority. "Now I expect to be brought the correct food and to not be kept waiting is that understood?"

"Weiss, it's alright." Blake reached out a tentative hand to calm the heiress. But Weiss paid it no mind. This was the most unprofessional display of service she had ever suffered.

"No Blake, it's not." Yang opened up at Weiss's side, "You don't know who this girl is." Yang pointed a finger over Weiss's shoulder at the waitress. "She's the one who ruined my hair." Yang nearly shouted, anger seeping into her words now. Several other tables glanced over to see what all the commotion was about but the waitress just stood there.

"Oh my Oum, Yang you're right." Ruby sounded more shocked than angry. Then again, it had been Yang's hair that was tampered with at the salon, not hers. "What was your name again?" Ruby tapped on her chin in thought for a moment, "Amethyst right?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the girl retrieved the incorrect peas and her tray from the other table. "Please, I'll bring you out some fresh ones. Please don't say anything." she hurried off without waiting for their response. Weiss watched, flabbergasted beyond belief at their incredible run of bad luck.

"Was that really the girl who dyed your hair?" she turned to Yang, disbelief spelled out plainly across her face.

"Yes." Yang's voice was strained against yelling, her eyes tinged red just by the memory of what had happened. Weiss set her hand on Yang's knee to bring her back to reality.

"I didn't really believe you guys," Weiss said absently. She was too worried about Yang and the thought of her tearing the restaurant to pieces before they had even eaten to piece together a real sentence.

"Yeah, she really does just do whatever she wants doesn't she?" Blake also seemed floored by meeting the infamous girl. It was one thing to have survived Yang's fury. But to tempt fate by coming near her again, and angering her girlfriend no less. Weiss wondered if they shouldn't just leave right now to avoid any further incident.

"Do you think she got fired at the salon?" Ruby asked quietly. It was obvious she felt bad for her, even with her blatantly appalling track record. Ruby really didn't have a mean or vindictive bone in her body.

"She better have." Yang was still livid, "Do you remember what she did to me?" She pointed at her now entirely blonde hair. It had taken a full week, and constant fussing by Yang along with double washing every shower, but the temporary purple dye had finally faded away completely. Weiss wondered if Yang's semblance hadn't helped burn it off as well.

"I'm so sorry. Here's your food." Amethyst came hurrying back over to the table carrying a fresh bowl of peas. "Absolutely, exactly the way you ordered." She pulled her arms sheepishly behind her. "I also asked if I one of the other girls could cover your table. I don't want another incident. I really need this job." She lowered her eyes and stood, apparently waiting for their answer. Weiss didn't trust Yang to answer and so spoke first, before she had a chance.

"That's alright, Amethyst was it?" Weiss asked politely and the girl nodded her head, "Just see that you don't do this sort of thing if you really do plan on keeping your job much longer." Amethyst nodded and rushed away, not risking another moment at their table.

"You're too nice." Yang crossed her arms in a pout.

"Weiss? Being too nice? That's a new one." Ruby laughed happily and Blake joined in with a small chuckle. Weiss shot them a withering stare before returning her attention to her overly upset girlfriend.

"I was just trying to avoid a scene Yang." Weiss placed a calming hand on her shoulder and could feel the heat radiating off her. "You already got her fired from one job for her incompetence, isn't that enough?" Yang did not respond and so Weiss continued, "Look, we have the right food now, it barely took any time. Plus Blake and I got to meet the creature of your nightmares and we'll have a funny story to tell Team JNPR when we get back." Weiss offered Yang a compromising smile in hopes that she would cheer up and save this meal from being a total disaster.

"I guess you're right," Yang relaxed her arms a little and her eyes faded back to purple. They had never quite gotten to the pure, blood red they assumed in combat, but they had been dangerously near the line.

"Ooh, nice job Ice Queen." Blake snickered, "You can even cool Yang down." Ruby and Blake both laughed again, but Weiss could feel Yang's muscles relax even more beneath her hand as she eased back into a joking mood with the rest of them.

"Yeah well, it's only fair." Yang turned to Weiss, "I do get her all hot and bothered." She winked suggestively and Weiss could have sworn she heard Ruby retch on her side of the table but at that moment she couldn't focus on much other than Yang's brilliant purple eyes. "See, like right now." Weiss shuddered as she realized she had been staring, and blushing, and thinking things inappropriate for a restaurant, or for in front of Ruby, or for anywhere really.

"And that is the last time I save you from blowing up a store." Weiss pulled her hands free of the beautiful blonde at her side and crossed her arms. She only returned her attention to the table when Ruby made a choking noise.

"Agchk," Ruby coughed and sputtered, nearly dropping her small bowl of soup to the table. Blake responded as quickly as ever, easing her hand down to set the soup without spilling it and rubbing Ruby's back with the other.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Blake looked extremely concerned. It was just Ruby probably trying to inhale her soup, she hadn't even used a spoon, she'd been drinking it straight out of the bowl. "Did that girl do something to the soup too?"

"I don't know. I thought you said this was just broth Weiss." Ruby rubbed at her throat and looked like she had been betrayed on the battlefield, not lied to about soup. Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, unable to believe that she thought these three would be capable of a decent meal out.

"There are tiny cubes of artificial protein called tofu." Weiss lowered her hand forcibly and explained as calmly as she could, "If you used a spoon like a normal person, you would have seen them. They taste just like the broth because they don't really have their own flavor."

"Oh no, tofu?" Yang pushed the bowl physically away from herself, "Nuh uh, that stuff is gross." Weiss turned on her in disbelief.

"Are you really turning down food of any kind." She asked in shock, "I never thought I'd see the day."

"I think we need to put it on the calendar," Blake jabbed as she continued to administer to Ruby. She was probably fine by now but was apparently enjoying the attention and so continued to play the victim.

"No, I am not." Yang responded pridefully, "Tofu isn't food. Tofu is paste. Nasty, tasteless, white paste." Yang used her spoon to push the soup even further away, across the table towards Blake.

"No, tofu is pressed bean curds and soy milk made into blocks." Weiss lifted a pair of chopsticks from the table and stirred her own soup as she spoke, "It has no flavor because it takes on the flavor of whatever it's being placed in. In this case, delicious green onion flavored broth." She plucked a single cube of white tofu out, allowed a few drops of soup to drip off into the bowl so they wouldn't onto her and then placed it quickly in her mouth. She let out an over-exaggerated hum of pleasure just to reinforce her point.

"Okay, but you could have warned me before I almost died." Ruby moaned. Blake took her talking as her cue to cease her ministrations and pulled her hands away from their leader. She didn't appear to regret pulling away but Weiss saw a noticeable hesitancy in her movements that she usually didn't have.

"I'm sorry I didn't expect you to drink the stuff straight out of the bowl like a savage." Weiss set her chopsticks down neatly on her napkin and dipped her spoon into the soup to take a mouthful.

"Actually Weiss." Blake lifted the bowl in both hands, "Traditionally you do drink this soup as if the bowl were a cup." Blake lifted the bowl to her lips and sipped slowly at the edge before setting it back down.

"Then why do they give you spoons?" Weiss lifted the utensil, clearly intended for use in soup eating, up in the air. Was Blake trying to correct her on table manners?

"They only provide spoons at restaurants like this. It's so people can use them if they want, if they don't know or if drinking the soup makes them feel uncomfortable." Blake took another long, slow drink of her soup. "Then you can eat the tofu out without having to fish around for it. Blake placed the soup back on the table and was able to easily pluck the little bits of tofu out of the now mostly empty bowl.

Ruby's eyes went a little wide with wonder and she lifted the bowl to her lips as well, but not quite as well as Blake had done. She gulped the soup down like a glass of milk and managed to pull it off for a second or two before choking again.

"Ughck,' Ruby set the bowl down again and pounded a single fist against her chest. "I guess it takes practice." she said sheepishly and looked over at Blake who was laughing lightly, doing her best to hide it behind her hand.

"You are totally helpless." Weiss sighed and turned to Yang who was drinking her soup much as Blake had done. She finished the entire bowl in a single pull and set it down with a satisfied gasp.

"Okay, that way I don't have to eat the tofu." Yang gave the tiny bowl a gentle twirl with her fingers, causing it to spin slowly.

"What about these Blake? How do we eat these?" Ruby lifted a single snap pea out of their fresh, untainted bowl for everyone to see. The peas were barely roasted and lightly salted just as Weiss had said, but Ruby was probably confused by the fact that they were still in the mostly inedible husk.

"Well, you just put it in your mouth and use your teeth to pull the pea out." Blake put the first pea in her mouth and pulled it out slowly. When she was done there was a hole in the end and definitely a pea missing. "Then you just keep going up the stalk." Blake repeated the process for the second and third peas and then dropped the now empty bit of plant on her plate. Ruby immediately followed suit and had much more success with it than she had with the soup.

"I can't believe there isn't a more civilized way to eat these." Weiss raised one of the tiny green things in front of her face and regarded it suspiciously, trying to find a better way. "But they are very good." She settled to just join her friends and eat it the way she always had. She would have to spend time finding a more decent way later, or perhaps a restaurant that served them out of the husk.

"Ladies, your gyoza." their original waitress dropped a small plate covered in pan fried dumplings on the table and then set a bowl of clear dipping sauce next to it. Then she folded the platter against her chest and regarded them apologetically. "Also, I wanted to apologize for whatever it was that happened with Amy. She's really rather new and we're still training her."

"That's quite alright. This delicious food has more than made up for it." Weiss granted the server a brief smile and waited for her to leave.

"If there's anything else I can do, please just let me know." The waitress nodded her head quickly and stepped away to help another table.

"At least most of the other wait staff here is polite." Blake looked back across at Weiss, almost daring her to insult that exemplary service.

"Yes, well. They have to make up for her somehow don't they?" Weiss folded her hands in her lap, refusing to grant Blake the pleasure of flustering her again this meal.

"Now these I love." Yang reached out with her chopsticks and grabbed one of the dumplings, dipped it in the sauce and ate the entire thing all at once, leaving a small trail of sauce between the bowl and her mouth.

"Are you capable of being civilized?" Weiss spun her own dumpling slowly as she lifted it, ensuring all the sauce remained on the surface and took a small bite.

"No, not really." Yang grabbed another and repeated nearly precisely the same process.

"How do I get these to work?" Ruby was fumbling desperately with her chopsticks, holding one like a pencil and pinching the other between her pinky and ring finger and not making any headway at all on picking up a dumpling.

"Like this Ruby." Blake clacked her chopsticks together with practiced ease and then lifted a dumpling gently from the plate. Ruby watched befuddled as Blake swept her arm across the table and took a bite of the dumpling, never wavering an inch. She tried to imitate Blake's performance, moved her chopsticks into a grip much closer to the proper one and actually almost picked up a dumpling before growing frustrated and giving up.

"Can't I just use a fork?" She turned back to Blake who was still holding the half-eaten dumpling.

"Don't give up Rubes. If I can do it, it's not that tough." Yang grabbed another and ate it whole. Weiss shot her an icy stare, apparently cold enough to feel because Yang turned, mouth still completely full, "Whut?"

"Leave her alone. She'll figure it out," Weiss gave Yang a playful push on the shoulder, "And don't talk with your mouth full," Yang smiled back and swallowed everything left in her mouth.

"Here just try it." Blake extended her dumpling out towards Ruby eagerly. Ruby side-eyed her sister and Weiss quickly before eating the rest of the dumpling off of Blake's chopsticks.

"Hmmm." Ruby made a happy little noise in her throat as she swallowed, "Okay those are good. But I still can't pick them up." She raised her useless chopsticks and flailed her hand about helplessly.

"Here, here let me show you." Blake reached out and grabbed Ruby's hand. She corrected her grip and showed her where the chopsticks should rest against her thumb and ring finger. Weiss leaned over and whispered to Yang as she taught Ruby.

"Does she seem a little handsy to you today?" Weiss whispered as quietly as she could. She was well aware of Blake's incredible hearing and was mostly hoping she was too distracted by her sudden, intense interest in Ruby to notice.

"Well yeah," Yang whispered back and then slid her mouth down right next Weiss's ear, so close she could feel the blonde's incredibly hot breath on her ear, "They are acting… a little...fishy." Yang snickered in Weiss's ear and pulled away. Weiss grimaced outwardly, but inside she knew she had walked directly into that pun. It was honestly more her fault than Yang's.

"Here you are, the main course." Their waitress returned with several plates layered in sushi. There were rolls, fish over rice, even the simple cuts of raw fish Blake had assumed were too expensive.

"Oh thank you so much," Blake looked like she was about to lunge out and hug the waitress but then she turned back to Weiss. "Thank you Weiss."

"Yeah of course. What are friends for?" She watched on as Blake devoured the fish and Ruby continued to fumble with her utensils. What was really going on with them?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Okay, so I am a tad of a sushi/Japanese food fanatic and I tried to avoid using the actual Japanese terms here for two reasons. One, is that Japan doesn't exist on Remnant and authorially I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the lack of countries but presence of cultures. I'm really not sure. The second reason is because I didn't want to lose anyone who wasn't familiar. Sashimi is just thin cuts of raw fish, Nigiri is thin cuts laid over seasoned rice, and rolls are rice rolled around a mixture of fish and other ingredients in like a tube. Gyoza are fried dumplings filled mostly with veggies and stuff but occasionally can have meat as well and Edamame are small roasted snap peas. Lastly, Miso soup is an onion based broth that can have little bits of tofu or not depending on the place. It is (as far as I know) actually culturally correct to drink it like a cup.
> 
> Alright, that's enough Japanese culture lesson for today. What did you think of the chapter? Weiss's perspective is fun to write from, I hope you like how I handle her. Please tell me what you thought.
> 
> -Zach
> 
> (I always find myself writing near lunch time)


	39. Victory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

"Do we really have to train with Ruby today?"Jaune drug his feet as they headed towards the sparring classroom that Professor Ozpin had provided for their use. He wanted to train, he never wanted to stop training. But, training with Pyrrha and Ruby always left him feeling like he wasn't getting anything done because they were both so far ahead of him. Sure he could watch and learn from their styles and how they fought, but there really weren't that many similarities between sword and shield and a giant warscythe and Pyrrha was still so much faster and more agile than him that all he ever saw was a blur of movement and successful strikes.

"Yes Jaune," Pyrrha didn't even turn to face him as they strode down the hallway, "Her team is taking the weekend off because of the mishap with the Nevermore and she asked if I could be her sparring partner for the day." They reached the door to the room where Ruby was already inside waiting and Pyrrha hesitated. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I can excuse myself for the day. Apologize to her and-"

"No." Jaune said much more quickly than he had meant to. He didn't want anyone thinking he was still that uncomfortable around Ruby, he really shouldn't be at this point. "No, really it's okay." He said once he was sure his voice was more under control. "I just feel kinda out classed with you two that's all." Pyrrha dropped her hand from the door and turned to him slowly.

"Oh Jaune, don't say that. You may not be as skilled as the two of us," she lifted a hand to his shoulder, "But you are getting better faster than I have seen anyone improve. It will take time, but you're getting there. Truly you are." Jaune raised his hand to hers on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"Thanks Pyrrha. You're the best." He smiled at her, touched at the sincerity he could see in her eyes. How was it that she could be so caring for him all the time? Jaune shook his head to dispel the thoughts, he had different things to focus on right now. "Come on, let's not keep her waiting." Jaune reached past Pyrrha and opened the door.

Inside Ruby was in the center of the training area, her scythe extended to its full length. She was running through a training routine of some sort, spinning and whirling her scythe around with deadly speed and accuracy. Pyrrha stopped and watched, no doubt observing her technique to try and find a sizeable edge over the younger girl. Jaune watched as well, following his partner and instructor's example and trying to find some hole in her form, a flaw to exploit. The blade never stopped moving.

She spun the entire weapon in huge arcing circles around her tiny body, nearly obscuring herself as the red and black metal whipped around. It didn't help that her clothing and even her hair perfectly matched her weapon as she seemed to blend into an unstoppable whirlwind of death. Whenever Jaune thought he saw a place where her form would collapse in on itself, a spot where her arms were too tangled or her body too contorted to continue, she would flip idly through the air or spin on a single heel and be back in complete control. It's like she was dancing with the weapon, not using it to kill imaginary Grimm.

"Your form is beautiful Ruby." Pyrrha yelled down to her, making sure her voice carried across the open expanse of the classroom. Ruby yelped and stumbled out of her form. She didn't lose control of her weapon or trip, but the harmony of her swings was broken. She turned around and though Jaune couldn't see if she was blushing, or digging her toe into the ground, he knew she must be a little embarrassed.

"Oh, hey guys."Ruby called up to them, "Thanks."

Pyrrha and Jaune descended the stairs towards her and she whirled the mighty weapon around her head, collapsing it into it's carryable form and sheathing it on her waist in one fluid motion. Jaune felt his shield and sword clank against his side and wished he had a more elegant weapon. They reached the floor and Ruby rocked back and forth on her boots, rolling from her toes to her heels and back again.

"Sooo," Ruby started in and Jaune knew she had some outlandish request. She probably wanted to try and snipe apples off his head or something. Shooting practice for the two markswomen before him. "I actually just kinda wanted to spar Pyrrha." Ruby pointed at her, as if there was any doubt who she meant.

"I know, I just thought-" Pyrrha started but Jaune cut her off. This worked better, if they just sparred a little and then Ruby left, he and Pyrrha could return to their normal training routine.

"No, no that's fine. I'm here to watch." Jaune waved his hands in front of him and backed towards the seats. "I'm just gonna turn on the big shield thing and the aura meters and watch. Yeah." He spun on his heel as he reached the stairs and whipped out his scroll, quickly activating the safety shield both to protect him during their fight and to prevent Pyrrha from chasing him and making him take part. He flicked the aura meters on second, casting Pyrrha and Ruby's bright green bars of defensive energy up onto the screen.

Even the smallest sounds carried very well in the auditorium style classroom. It was built so that the acoustics helped the professors speak to the entire class at once. But, during combat it also served to carry every clash and clang of weaponry to the audience of students. Right now, it was letting Jaune pick up every word of Pyrrha and Ruby's conversation. Not that they were whispering, just that he normally couldn't hear two people talk from almost fifty feet away.

"Is this a rematch Ruby? To make up for our fight on the roof?" Pyrrha reached back and removed _Akoúo̱_ from her back without the use of her semblance.

"I don't know if I'd call it a rematch." Ruby stepped forward and the two shook hands before the match would begin. Ruby didn't always do that, but Pyrrha did every single time, she said it was a habit from all the tournament fighting but Jaune knew better. Pyrrha always wanted the other person to know that this was a friendly match, a competition, not an actual fight. "I mean we didn't really get to finish last time. This is more of a continuation."

Pyrrha laughed, high and loud, a challenge to her smaller opponent. Ruby leapt back several yards in a single bound, landing with _Crescent Rose_ already unfurled. The moment Ruby's feet touched the ground, Pyrrha whipped _Miló_ out into her right hand, using her semblance to land it in her already outstretched grip, unfurled into its spear form.

Pyrrha heaved the spear at Ruby and charged behind it with a cry. Ruby twirled her weapon, catching the projectile with the handle and diverting it up and over her. She was short enough that she didn't have to duck to avoid blows like that. Pyrrha braced both arms against her shield and rammed into Ruby's outheld scythe. The blow sent Ruby sprawling but Pyrrha didn't press the advantage, she rolled over Ruby and came into a fighting stance behind her, pulling her spear out of where it had lodged into the ground.

Ruby spun to her feet, whipping out with _Crescent Rose_ in a wide circle as she twirled to face her opponent. Pyrrha hesitated just long enough to avoid the spinning blade and ran in, following the back of _Crescent Rose_ as Ruby finished her circle. She raised _Akoúo̱_ at her side to block the strike she knew was coming but it only caught the handle of Ruby's weapon, the blade had ended its sweep behind her, she was inside its reach. Ruby giggled and Pyrrha gasped as the report of _Crescent Rose's_ sniper rifle going off echoed through the room. Ruby was launched backwards, taking the blade of her scythe through Pyrrha in a sideways guillotine motion. Pyrrha flipped backwards, sailing just over the edge of the blade as Ruby rocketed away from her. Jaune saw her aura activate, a shimmering white glow around her ankles as she completed her flip. Ruby had managed to clip Pyrrha, if even just barely. Pyrrha landed the flip, seemingly not noticing the contact as Ruby slid to a halt on the opposite side of the arena.

They charged back at one another, Pyrrha with _Miló_ and _Akoúo̱_ held high, Ruby twirling _Crescent Rose_ through it's visceral arcs. When they met, Jaune noted a distinct difference in Pyrrha's speed and ferocity. Apparently she had very much noticed being hit. She deftly intercepted _Crescent Rose's_ descending arc with a blow of her shield, parrying the massive weapon off course, stabbed forward with an attack that Ruby managed to deflect with the handle of scythe and followed up with an overhead strike delivered by a deft twist of her wrist. Ruby sidestepped most of the blow but _Miló_ still ended up tracing a line down her torso that would have killed her if not for her aura. Jaune clenched his hands on his knees in nervous anticipation, he had never seen one of Pyrrha's fights carry on like this. He had never gotten to see someone go blow for blow with her.

From the safety of his seat Jaune watched in awe as they performed their deadly dance. After being struck as well Ruby applied even harder pressure. Pyrrha was forced to dodge and avoid most of her attacks, the weight and size of _Crescent Rose's_ massive dual blades proving too imposing to block and divert. Her incredible speed and agility kept Pyrrha one step ahead of Ruby's attacks most of the time, but every so often Ruby managed to nick her here or catch an exposed limb there. Pyrrha more than held her own though, striking out at Ruby with every movement, a graceful example of efficiency of movement. No maneuver served a single purpose. All blocks were strikes and every parry created an opening she sought to exploit. Jaune was as impressed with their abilities as he was with his own in being able to track the fight. Maybe this battle would teach him something.

Pyrrha leapt up and over Ruby as the momentum of her latest swing carried her through a full circle and past where the Mistralian warrior had been less than a second before. She twirled _Miló_ back into a sword as she completed her turn above Ruby's head and landed, shield forward, sword held high in a stance Jaune was all too familiar with. Ruby pirouetted to a stop facing the other girl and slid her scythe down into a slightly shorter handled variant of it's melee form. Pyrrha refused to hesitate and give Ruby even a moment's breather, sliding forward and crouching low in a single fluid motion to strike out at her legs. Ruby leapt over the blade's edge and brought the back end of her long handled weapon around to whip Pyrrha in the head. Pyrrha gritted her teeth and took the blow, using the time to angle her sword up and into Ruby's side. Airborne as she was there was nothing Ruby could do to avoid the attack.

Both girls grunted as they were struck. Ruby was launched, tumbling away from Pyrrha and Pyrrha for her part had to put a hand to the ground to steady herself after the blow to the face. Ruby landed and darted backwards a few quick steps, rolling _Crescent Rose_ into its lighter rifle form and firing a volley of rounds towards Pyrrha. She was able to raise _Akoúo̱_ and catch the dust bullets before they could reach her. As soon as the last bullet struck, Pyrrha reared back and fired her shield at Ruby, sending it spinning through the air towards her. She steadied herself and ran behind it. The shield ricocheted off Ruby's guard but Pyrrha was on top of her before she could alter her stance. _Akoúo̱_ came whizzing back to her arm and she descended on the younger girl with a fury that could strike down a hundred Grimm, striking and cutting now faster than Jaune could track.

Ruby fell completely onto the defensive, twirling and spinning, twisting and dodging in a vain attempt to avoid harm, but Pyrrha's strikes were too quick, too accurate. Before long it was obvious that Pyrrha had the clear advantage forcing Ruby back across the open expanse of arena floor with every strike. Then, the blows began to land. First one strike caught Ruby's elbow where it extended past the handle of her scythe, then another on the opposite shoulder when she couldn't react quickly enough. With each successive blow Ruby's reactions slowed, her form weakened, and Jaune watched her aura drain substantially. Pyrrha pressed hard, not letting up or offering Ruby any chance to change tactics, to disrupt her flow.

There was burst of rose petals between them and Jaune lost sight of Ruby. He followed the trail as it streamed away from the conflict. The safety shield flashed as Pyrrha traced her opponent with her rifle, trying to maintain a bead on the flying stream of petals pursuing the fluttering caped figure. Each shot struck the shield, proving it had missed its mark and Ruby continued her erratic laps of the room. Jaune glanced up and saw the steady tick as her semblance drained her aura.

Ruby ran up along the far wall and perched on the edge of the professor's viewing platform, knees bent and _Crescent Rose_ extended far behind her, gripped in both hands. He could hear her groan in strain and concentration as she built energy for her charge. Pyrrha rolled _Miló_ back into a sword and crouched, shield out, readying herself to meet this full frontal assault. With the bang of _Crescent Rose_ launching her forward, Ruby flew through the air towards Pyrrha, spinning in a tight spiral and dragging the blade of her massive weapon through the air behind her. Jaune didn't understand why Pyrrha stood so firm, so ready to meet the attack. She crouched low and raised her shield above her head just before Ruby made contact.

The blur of red veered suddenly upwards, not by much, but enough that the blade came into contact with _Akoúo̱_ and not Pyrrha's torso. She sliced upwards with _Miló_ as Ruby's bewildered form sailed over her head, catching the brunette in the torso and sending her crashing to the ground at Pyrrha's side. Jaune immediately tore his eyes from the pair to the aura meters above. Ruby's had just barely ticked into the red and Pyrrha's was lower than he had ever seen it, shaded orange to indicate how close she was to the knock-out limit. The buzzer sounded to signal the end of the match and Jaune disengaged the safety shield, hurrying down to the girls below. Their voices carried to him as he descended the long staircase.

"That was incredible Ruby." Pyrrha panted as she tried to regain her breath, "I had no idea you could fight like that." She extended a hand and helped the younger girl up off the floor.

"Well," Ruby accepted Pyrrha's hand and stood with a groan, sheathing _Crescent Rose_ against her back and circling her arms in a stretch before she continued, "Uncle Qrow always made sure I was good at fighting other Hunters too. I just wanted to fight Grimm but he said I would need to be able to do both." She turned to face Pyrrha fully, "I guess I have more work to do though." She chuckled lightly and Jaune reached the arena floor.

"You fought very well. We should train more often, I think we would both benefit." Pyrrha smiled and stowed her weapons on her back, "And it was a lot of fun." Pyrrha laughed as well and Jaune finally reached them.

"Wow, oh my Oum you two," he shouted excitedly as he came up between them. "That was crazy!" They both laughed demurely and Ruby punched him playfully in the shoulder.

"It wasn't that big a deal, just a sparring match." she laughed again and twisted at the waist, trying to work out a kink somewhere in her spine.

"Are you kidding me? That was insane, you looked like full blown huntresses." Jaune still couldn't wrap his head around most of what he had seen the two perform. It really did appear that they were far beyond the first year students they claimed to be, especially in Ruby's case since she was already two full years ahead.

"We still have a lot of work to do before we are actual huntresses Jaune." Pyrrha stepped closer to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone always has room to improve."

"I hope you guys can still train? We didn't take too long did we Pyrrha?" Ruby looked up to her concern written across her face and doubt in her words. Jaune figured that meant she really had just been looking to finish her match with Pyrrha, to settle that score even if it ended in her loss.

"I believe we have plenty of time." Pyrrha smiled and turned back to Jaune, her hand still on his shoulder, "Don't we Jaune?"

"Oh yeah. I mean your fight was awesome but it only took like five minutes." Jaune checked his scroll, "We've got plenty of time."

"Well you two have fun then," Ruby took a small step backwards, "I'm gonna go shower, and sleep, and probably eat a ton of cookies. Maybe not quite in that order." She laughed again and turned to go but Pyrrha rushed forward, dropping her hand from Jaune's shoulder and sweeping Ruby up in a hug. Ruby released a startled eep as Pyrrha grabbed her and picked her up, snuggling her face against her and holding her tight. After a long few seconds she set her back down and sighed happily.

"Thank you Ruby, for an absolutely wonderful duel." Pyrrha's voice was dripping with sweet sincerity, the same way she sounded when she reassured Jaune in his moments of crisis. "And for being such a great person."

"Oh, yeah," Ruby chuckled, a little unsure of how to respond, "No problem Pyrrha." She turned to Jaune next. "I'll see ya around Jaune." Ruby waved happily and ascended the stairs out of the classroom, humming happily as she skipped away. Jaune waited until she was gone before speaking up.

"What was all that about Pyrrha?" He asked in honest curiosity. It was unlike her to wear her emotions so close to the surface and he wanted to be sure she was feeling alright.

"Nothing Jaune, just girl stuff." she rubbed his arm one more time and turned to walk back into the center of the arena. "Come on, we've got work to do."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - I have been hearing that the Ruby v Pyrrha rematch was anticipated. Did it live up? Yes, the rematch ended up being seen from Jaune's perspective and not say, from Ruby or Pyrrha's so he didn't quite catch it all. But, that's how it had to work. Who better to watch Ruby and Pyrrha fight than Jaune? One's ex and the other's crush. THemes and stuff ya know?
> 
> Also, I didn't realize until I was reading through the edits for today's chapter but this weekend's publication worked out really nice with today and tomorrow's chapter landing like they did. Kinda nifty when that happens.
> 
> Another also, I am going to try to pump out some one-shot style material for the Monday holiday. For those of you not in the US, Monday September 5 is a holiday here called Labor Day meant to celebrate the common worker and such. Mostly we seem to bar-b-q and use it as a last hurrah for summer before fall sets in. But, since I work for the government (it's as bad as you can imagine) I get the day off. I will try and use this to create more (hopefully) wonderful content for all of you.
> 
> Can't wait to hear what you thought of the chapter. Can't wait to publish tomorrow's either, expect it in the early AM's. Thanks for reading.
> 
> -Zach


	40. Something More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Pyrrha grunted a little with the effort of helping Jaune off the ground after having floored him for perhaps the twentieth time this evening. The match with Ruby had taken far more out of Pyrrha than she was willing to admit and she was feeling the effects of their extended training session more than usual. Also, Jaune was much heavier than he had been. He was putting on muscle mass quickly and his armor wasn't exactly light to begin with. So, lifting him off the ground over and over was a workout in and of itself, even if he was helping get it all up in the air.

As Jaune thanked her and walked off to get their water bottles from the corner Pyrrha let her mind wander slightly, thinking back on her match against Ruby. She had assumed they were following the same rules regarding semblance use that they had established on the roof, since Ruby did say this fight was a continuation of that one. It had appeared that way for Ruby as well, seeing as she refrained from activating her own semblance until the last few moments of the battle. In the end though, once she had used hers, Pyrrha had seen it as more than appropriate to implement her own.

Deflecting the massive blade was the kind of thing she did to make herself untouchable. Had she been utilizing her usual strategy the entire battle she surely would have held Ruby off with ease, diverting the war scythe just slightly whenever its blade came too near her person. As it was, she and Ruby had fought a fairly even match, the younger girl impressing Pyrrha thoroughly with her ability to wield the oversized weapon so skillfully. Her uncle had trained her exceedingly well. Pyrrha had also learned an incredibly valuable lesson. She relied on her semblance far too much, it had become too second nature to her to divert attacks and not even dodge completely. She had gotten lazy. She vowed at the end of the round to train herself daily in hand to hand combat without the use of her semblance. It was an advantage that should be used sparingly in times of need, not relied on.

Jaune returned with their water and she accepted it graciously, the motion taking her out of her thoughts for a moment. She drank hungrily from the bottle, draining what remained and wishing they had brought more. Pyrrha paused and watched Jaune for a moment as he too emptied his bottle. He was definitely in considerably better physical condition than when he had started at Beacon, Oum he was in better shape than he was a few weeks ago. His newfound commitment to his training was paying off in spades. He was catching up to Pyrrha's actual pace during their morning runs, lifting more and more in the gym, lasting longer during their sword play sessions and still seemed hungry for more.

More importantly, Jaune was still Jaune. He was stronger and more capable now but still light hearted and fun loving. Pyrrha still found him reading comics in the dorm and downloading games on his scroll. He had stepped into a more prominent role as leader with the boost in confidence the training was giving him. But, he still made every decision a team decision, weighed everyone's opinions equally. Most of all though, Jaune still viewed Pyrrha the same way he always had. She was his partner, his teammate, his mentor and trainer and she was just another person. Pyrrha slipped sometimes, she spilled her milk at breakfast and needed to borrow a pencil in class. Jaune never put her up on the pedestal that she knew Weiss and others still did.

Pyrrha was even more infatuated with him now than she had been the day he hadn't known her name. He had stopped chasing after every girl that ran by. His failed relationship with Ruby seemed to have matured him considerably. He was devoted to his career as a Huntsman now more than ever and it didn't hurt that every day of training made him more and more physically attractive. Chiseled chest, firm arms, long, sturdy legs; that absolutely precious mop of dirty blonde hair and those piercing blue eyes. They lived together, she had seen him getting out of the shower, covered only by a towel. There wasn't much left for her imagination to fill in, but, that didn't stop it from doing as it pleased.

"Hey Pyrrha, you okay?" Jaune waved his hand in front of her eyes and Pyrrha jumped, startled out of her staring session by his attentions. "You alright? You seem a little out of it." Pyrrha was most definitely not alright, but it had less to do with having worked out too much and far more to do with the boy she was working out with. But, she couldn't exactly tell him that now could she?

"I'm alright." Pyrrha nodded as calmly as she could, hoping against hope that nothing in her movements or her expression gave away the train of thought she had been following down a very dangerous path. "I do wish we had brought more water with us though," she held up the empty water bottle to emphasize her point.

"Oh, yeah." Jaune trailed off and looked over at their pile of gear by the stairs. There were a half dozen empty water bottles. "Maybe we should get the big refillable kind." Jaune turned back with a silly grin and Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh. They had the big refillable kind in their room. He had suggested before that perhaps it was just too much hassle to refill them every time when they could just get the disposable plastic ones.

"Jaune we have those." she said through her laughter, "You bought them for the whole team because you thought the plastic kind were wasteful." Pyrrha lifted her hand to stifle further laughter. Jaune rubbed the back of his head and chuckled in embarrassment.

"Really?" He looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember. "Oh no, you're totally right. I even got Nora a pink one." He let his eyes drop back to Pyrrha, "Uggh I think I need a breather, I guess I'm a little fried." Juane collapsed right there on the floor, laying out his back in the spot Pyrrha had helped him up from just moments ago. She allowed her laughter to finally settle and sat down at his side, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands.

"Well, you've been going longer and longer every night. Soon we may have to set a time to stop instead of just going until you are too tired." Pyrrha looked over and saw Jaune had propped himself up on his elbows, apparently not exhausted to the point of collapse but just down playing his own abilities as usual.

"You really think so? I thought I was just lasting longer tonight because you're tired." Jaune rolled over and leaned on one arm, letting his other fall idly across his torso.

"Oh no, I have been coming at you with the same energy as always. You are just doing that much better." Pyrrha wanted to turn closer to him, to slide her hand into his while they talked. Not just sitting with each other, but sitting together. She pulled her back erect and folded her hands in her lap to avoid the temptation. "You're really very talented Jaune, just in need of more practice to refine your technique."

"Oh no, you're just an awesome teacher is all Pyrrha." Jaune pushed playfully at her shoulder and fell back on his arm. Pyrrha laughed along with him but she didn't feel the merriment, she didn't like when he put himself down like that. "I wouldn't have gotten this far if you hadn't been so great. I mean, who else has a twenty-four/seven combat tutor?"

"It's the least I could do. We are partners, and you're my team leader Jaune." Pyrrha raised her gaze to lock on with his, "You're my friend."

"Yeah but I mean." Jaune failed to blow a strand of hair off his face and so whipped his head back instead, revealing those crystal blue eyes. "Ren's my friend, Nora's my friend. They aren't training me every single night, pushing me and hounding me and giving me all their time."

"Well yes. But we all have to push each other and…" Pyrrha hesitated as other than their relationship as partners there was no way to explain her devotion to him without revealing how she felt. Hadn't she promised Blake that she would pursue Jaune? She fidgeted in her seat as she tried to come up with an escape route, she moved her hands to her knees and tried to look calm, tried not to tense up. Of course she had promised she would pursue him, but, that didn't mean that she was going to confess to him here in the training room out of nowhere did it?

"I guess, I guess I just wanted to say thanks Pyrrha." Jaune reached over and grasped her hand again, giving it a firm but brief squeeze before pulling back, "It really means alot to me that you help me out like this."

"Of course Jaune," Pyrrha left her fingers extended where he had grabbed her hand. She wanted desperately to have that feeling back, for his hand to remain there. But, he was already back to leaning on his elbow so she took a slow breath and pushed forward. "Really, you've doing much better since you re-devoted to your training."

"You mean since I broke up with Ruby." Jaune's voice dropped considerably and Pyrrha felt her chest tighten. Of course she had taken their nice, quiet partner time and interrupted it by bringing up his ex-girlfriend, the one she had just been sparring. Now, he would grow saddened and ask to return to training because that's what he had been doing since they broke up, like a coping mechanism.

"You have been training harder than ever since then." Pyrrha shifted so that she was facing him more directly. She wanted this conversation to continue, she wanted to talk with him not train him.

"I just…" Jaune's voice caught and he paused, "I wasn't good enough at that. So I need to be good enough at this." He shifted out of his comfortable laying down position to a more proper seated one, though he left his legs out in front of him.

"What do you mean you weren't good enough?" Pyrrha asked with more emotion in her voice than she had intended. "That wasn't the problem at all." Pyrrha clamped her mouth shut over the last word. This wasn't her place, she hadn't even been part of the couple. Who was she to tell Jaune why his relationship with another girl had failed?

"What Pyrrha?" Jaune screwed up his eyes in confusion and she started in before he could continue.

"You didn't lose Ruby because you weren't good enough Jaune. You lost her because you two wanted different things." Pyrrha had come this far, she might as well get it all out. It would be more damaging to stop at this point. It would be like setting a broken bone, more painful in the moment but better in the long run. "You were more than good enough for her, you still are. She just wanted a friend and companion while you wanted a lover. Ruby wanted someone to come hang out with her and you wanted someone to spend time with." Pyrrha caught herself before she might say something damaging towards Ruby. She felt very strongly about this but didn't want her mouth to outrun her mind.

"Pyrrha…" Jaune's shoulders went slack and he stared at her in total disbelief. Pyrrha didn't like to expose her opinions like that but she was holding enough back with Jaune as it was. "Do you really think that?"

"Yes Jaune." Pyrrha had to focus to keep her voice from breaking now, to keep her frustration and sadness and anger and love all in check. "You- You're an amazing person. You're selfless and unassuming and kind and generous." Pyrrha stood and turned away from him, hiding her face and the storm she knew must be raging across it. "Ruby saw all of that but she's just too young still. She doesn't know how to be in a relationship yet. That's not how I would have treated you. You deserve so much more than that." Pyrrha held her arms around her stomach, clutching at her middle to try and control herself. She could not let herself break down in front of Jaune, she had to be a pillar of strength, like she always was.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, gripping softly, but with enough force to turn her around. Pyrrha turned and found herself face to face with her partner, inches apart. She knew she was a mess. She knew her mask of neutrality and composure had broken. There was no way that even Jaune in his blissful ignorance couldn't see how she looked. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight, held him close. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her as well, returning the embrace gently.

"Pyrrha, why didn't you ever say anything?" Jaune asked without pulling away. Pyrrha didn't know what to say. Had he finally figured out how she felt, in the midst of all that had Jaune finally pulled her feelings out of the mire of messages she was trying to send him? "If you knew I wouldn't be happy with Ruby, why didn't you tell me?" Pyrrha's heart dropped a little, he still didn't know.

"Do you remember the night you told us all that you had feelings for Ruby?" Pyrrha gripped him a little tighter, she didn't want him to step away, she didn't want him to move. "When I walked in on you speaking with Nora and Ren."

"Yeah," Jaune's grip loosened but he didn't pull away, "Of course I remember. You were really supportive of it. That's what I don't-"

"I asked you a lot of questions." Pyrrha purposefully interrupted him, "I asked why you felt the way you did, what you thought of her, how long you had felt that way." She could feel Jaune nod as she continued, "I wanted to make sure that you were sincere, not for her sake but for yours. I never said anything because as long as you were happy then that was what was best." Pyrrha turned her head into the crook of his neck to try and muffle her voice, she knew she wouldn't be able to get through this next part without a waver. "Then, when you two had your troubles. When you weren't happy with it anymore. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't trust myself to not let my own feelings get in the way." Jaune pushed her away, grabbing her by the shoulders and trying to make eye contact, but Pyrrha looked at the ground.

"Wait, what?" He moved his head down to try and enter her field of vision but she jerked her head the other way to avoid his eyes. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. "What do you mean your feelings? Pyrrha. Pyrrha look at me." Pyrrha slowly brought her head back up to meet his eyes. "What do you mean you thought your feelings would get in the way?"

"I mean I couldn't tell you to end things with Ruby and trust my own opinion Jaune… because… because I wanted you for myself." Pyrrha felt like her throat snapped as the last words came out. She clamped her mouth shut to contain the small whimper that always preceded her crying. She felt it fly around in her mouth and she clenched her eyes shut hard. She could not break in front of Jaune. She would not accept his pity.

"I don't…" Jaune stood there and stared at her as Pyrrha tried desperately to hold all her emotions back. She wanted to slap him for never seeing it, she wanted to kiss him now that he knew, she wanted to run and run and never look back, she even wanted to go home to Mistral to try and just forget this had happened to her. She couldn't do any of those things, so Pyrrha Nikos stood there with his hands on her shoulders and waited. "I didn't know Pyrrha. I never knew."

Pyrrha dropped her gaze to the floor. She couldn't look at him. She couldn't stand here and be told her absolute devotion to him had gone unnoticed. Pyrrha had known it all along, but finally hearing it from him, it felt unbearable. Jaune slid his hands along her shoulders and slowly up her neck until they came to rest gently at the base of her chin.

"I'm so sorry I'm such an idiot. You should have smacked me and told me sooner." Jaune lifted her chin up just enough that he could put his lips over hers. Pyrrha didn't know how to react. Jaune was kissing her, finally, suddenly. She had been on the verge of tears, at the edge of breaking down and now she felt like she weighed nothing at all. After nearly a year of adoration and unrequited love for him, he was finally kissing her.

Jaune started to pull back to break the kiss but Pyrrha felt like if their lips separated that it might break whatever spell had her trapped in this moment. That was the last thing she wanted. She threw her arms over his shoulders, tangling her fingers in the back of Jaune's hair and pulled him back into the kiss. Jaune hummed in surprise but didn't pull back away. Pyrrha felt his arms slide down around her back and embrace her. She let her hands drop around his neck and, now confident that with their arms around each other there was no chance he might slip away, broke the kiss. The both let out a sigh, expressing their contentment and pulling in air at the same time.

"Jaune. I need to know my feelings aren't one sided." Pyrrha put her head down on his shoulder, "Why did you just do that?" She tensed in anticipation, terrified at how he might answer. Had he only kissed her because she said she liked him. She knew Jaune was eager to win the affections of women, eager for romantic engagement. But, she had to hope that this was more than that to him.

"I kissed you because I realized I should have a long time ago." Jaune lifted a single hand to the back of her head. He cradled her skull carefully, pressing it to his chest earnestly. "When you said you cared about me as… as more than a friend and a partner… it was like a rush of memories came back to me all at once. All the times you helped me up, made me pay attention in class, reassured me or encouraged me. I remembered every time you put your hand here on my arm," Jaune lifted his other hand to rest just above her elbow, "All the times your looks lingered on me." He slid both arms back around her, "I realized just how long you've been holding this in. I realized that I didn't even let myself look at you that way because you were my partner." Jaune kissed the top of her head lightly "But, that shouldn't matter. What should matter is how we feel. And. Pyrrha. You're the closest friend I've ever had. I want it to be more than that. Just like you said. I want you to be my lover Pyrrha."

Pyrrha turned her head up so they were face to face again, their noses brushing. She

pushed up and into his lips. She didn't push this time, didn't force herself earnestly against him, but kissed him tenderly. She kept it much shorter than before, pulling her lips together as she drifted away, then placed another soft kiss on his cheek, just at the edge of his smile.

"Thank you Jaune." Pyrrha said quietly, not pulling her head away from his after the last kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much for finally seeing me." She dropped her head back to his shoulder and held him close. She didn't ever want to let him go again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Okay. What did you think?


	41. What's This?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

"Are you really sure Ruby?" Blake fumbled a bit with her scroll as she recovered from Ruby's sudden offer.

"Of course I am. Come on. Let's go right now." Ruby jumped up off her bed, landed gracefully on her feet and pulled Blake bodily out of her bed, gently tugging her along. It wasn't as if Blake resisted, she was just startled.

"Ruby, Ruby," Blake couldn't help but giggle at the younger girl's enthusiasm, "Let me put on some shoes first, calm down." Blake stood and Ruby let go of her arm a tad sheepishly.

"Sorry, I just wanna get out of here before Yang and Weiss get back." Ruby looked away, to the corner of the room.

"Are they making you feel uncomfortable? I'm sure that if you just mentioned it-" Blake started to try and reassure Ruby that their partners were not doing anything intentional to make Ruby feel out of sorts in her own room but she was cut off.

"No, no it's not that," Ruby waved her arms about hysterically, "They've actually been really awesome about it all and they've only been dating like a week and I just want them to get some alone time. I know how Yang gets and she will be trying to so hard to make sure that it doesn't make us feel weird that she and Weiss will never get any alone time and it'll ruin everything. So, I just wanna force them to have alone time by, well, not being here when they get back." The words fell out of Ruby like water from a small dam burst and she looked almost winded by the time she finished.

"Okay. We still need shoes though." Blake pointed down at both of their bare feet and Ruby smiled mischievously.

"Yeah, I guess we do huh?" Ruby flopped backwards to sit on the edge of Weiss's bed and pull on her combat boots. She wasn't wearing her corset or combat skirt right now, just a pair of black denim jeans and a dark red v-neck, and of course, her cloak. Blake was wearing full length leggings, shorts and a deep purple t-shirt. She slid her shoes on quickly, grabbed a light jacket and waited for Ruby to finish the long process of lacing up her boots.

"Are you ready yet?" Blake asked playfully. It was funny to her that she was ready so much faster than the one who had been in a hurry to get out of there.

"Yeah, yeah almost. These laces just get so darn tangled sometimes." Ruby tugged and pulled the strings into place, finally finishing with the second boot. She leapt up from Weiss's bed and dashed to Blake's side. "Do you really think you'll need a jacket?"

"It is a little chillier lately. Who knows. You should take one too." Blake indicated Ruby's red hoodie that was laying in a pile by the door. Ruby gave the crumpled garment one look and shook her head.

"Nah, I'm good. I've got my cloak." Ruby spun back to face Blake, "So we're ready to go?" There was a bright twinkle in Ruby's eye that Blake didn't know quite how to deal with. Was she really that excited about this?

"Yes Ruby. I believe I am ready to go to the bookstore." Blake dropped her jacket over one arm and opened the door out into the hallway. She immediately closed it again when she saw precisely the thing they had been trying to avoid, Weiss and Yang in the hallway, kissing quite passionately. The door slammed as it shut and Blake was certain they had noticed.

"I thought we were ready to go?" Ruby cocked her head off to one side, apparently having missed the very public display of affection in the hallway.

"Uhh, yeah. Sorry. I just got startled. Yang and Weiss are out there. I thought you said they weren't getting back until later?" Blake left her hand on the doorknob, trying to buy time for her friends to compose themselves a little before they were seen again.

"Well Yang just messaged me that they were on their way back. I thought we had time." Ruby crossed her arms in a pout. "I guess she must have meant they were on their way up the stairs."

"Your plan will still work. Let's just tell them we're headed out and leave. That won't be weird." Blake desperately wanted that sparkle to come back, even if she had to kindle it a little. She waited with her hand on the door though, because if she knew anything about her team leader it was that Ruby didn't do well when forced into uncomfortable situations.

"Okay, okay yeah. Let's go." Ruby uncrossed her arms and clenched her fists in silent determination. Blake jiggled the handle slightly, trying to make a bit of noise to announce their imminent arrival into the hallway and then opened the door slowly. Yang and Weiss were standing hand in hand as if waiting to meet them.

"Hey there Blakey what's up?" Yang waved excitedly and Blake saw that Weiss's face and neck were a few shades redder than her pale skin usually was. Good, at least one of them had the common sense to be embarrassed about making out in the hallway.

"Oh nothing Yang. Just headed out. Are you two just getting back?" Blake asked as sweetly as she could. She knew that everyone knew what was going on, but she didn't want to make a big scene about glanced to her side and saw Ruby rubbing the hem of her cloak between her thumb and forefinger, as, if not more, embarrassed than Weiss.

"Yeah, yeah. We just walked up." Yang slid her arm over Weiss's shoulders, "Maybe could'a used a few more minutes though." She winked slyly, as if that comment needed any further insinuation.

"Well, feel free." Blake stepped out of the way towards Ruby and swung her arm into the dorm, "Ruby and I are going to the bookstore." Weiss strode directly past Blake with an irritated huff, pulling out of Yang's grip as she went. Yang smiled and laughed as she followed.

"You two have fun, don't stay out too late." She winked at Blake again and closed the door. What was that wink for? She wasn't planning anything too lecherous with Weiss was she? It had only been a week.

"Okay, well that went terribly." Ruby sighed, letting her shoulders droop visibly.

"What do you mean?" Blake turned around to face her, putting her back to Team JNPR's door.

"Well, did you see how upset Weiss was? She's gonna get all mad at Yang now." Ruby's face said everything Blake needed to know. She was terribly worried about her sister and her fledgling relationship. After all, Ruby's relationship with Jaune had barely lasted longer than this so of course she was concerned.

"I wouldn't worry too much Ruby." Blake stepped forward but resisted the urge to soothe Ruby by putting her hand on her shoulder. "What I saw them doing was just as much Weiss's fault as it was Yang's." Ruby's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh eww eww eww," Ruby grabbed Blake's hand and drug her down the hallway, "Okay, let's get out of here. I don't wanna be anywhere near them." Blake did her best to repress a broad smile as she went hand in hand with Ruby down the hallway.

* * *

The bookstore was just as Blake remembered it, though it had only been a few weeks since her last visit here. There were rows and rows of books, stacked high on shelves along the walls, low bookcases that ran all through the middle sections of the store and piled in various places were there just wasn't any more room. The whole place had that musty smell of old paper that Blake just loved and despite the huge windows facing the street, the store had an intimate feeling that was the real reason Blake kept coming back.

"Oh, I hope they have a copy left. It's a really popular book." Ruby rubbed her hands together nervously as they entered the store, silver eyes darting around the shelves.

"I'm sure they have at least one left," Blake eased her concerns, "This is Tukson's Book Trade-"

"Home to every book under the Sun." The large, friendly shopkeep emerged from the back room where he kept the overstock. Blake had never told him and he had never told her but they were both fully aware of the fact that they were both Faunus. They could smell it on each other's clothes, see it in the way they carried themselves. But, Blake knew they were among friends here, none of the White Fang's usual territorial marks were present in or around the store. "Hey there, how are you?" Tukson picked up a stack of books on the counter and moved them off to the side, clearing a space so he could see them both clearly.

"Good afternoon, I'm doing really well today. How are you? How's business?" Blake smiled at the man. He had always been nice to her, recommending books, working to get in copies of rarer novels she was after, even discreetly wrapping some of her _Ninja's of Love_ volumes when she had other errands left to run.

"I've been just great lately. I feel like I can breathe." Tukson spread his arms wide and took in a huge breath of the store's musty air, "Business is doing great too, the Vytal Festival brings all sorts to town."

"I'm glad to hear that." Blake nodded her head and smiled again, "This is my friend, teammate and leader. This is Ruby." She held her hands beside her to show Ruby off like some sort of prize at a gameshow.

"Nice to meet you Ruby." Tukson waved happily, "I do hope you're taking good care of Blake. She keeps this little store afloat."

"She does, she's a great leader. The best I could have hoped for." Blake turned from Tukson and looked at Ruby, hoping her praise would help embolden her in front of the man. Of course it seemed to do the exact opposite.

"Oh, pfft well…" Ruby turned her toe against the floor, mumbling and sputtering some nonsense about her not being that big of a deal.

"Now, I think I know why the two of you are here." Tukson set his heavy forearms down on the counter and eyed Blake knowingly, "And I have just what you're looking for." Blake cocked her head off to the side, had Tukson really held one for her without her asking.

"Oh Blake, that's so cool. You're like a total VIP or something." Ruby nudged her in the side excitedly. Blake didn't think it was that special, he just held a copy for her because he knew she would keep coming back. That was just friendly customer service right?

"I didn't save two copies. I didn't realize you were bringing a friend and we basically sold out right away. But this one was in pretty good condition so I pulled it aside for you." The man emerged from beneath the counter holding a pristine hardback of the fifth and final volume in the series she and Ruby had been reading together.

"Oh, oh I'll get it." Ruby dashed forward, Lien already in hand.

"Now, I know you're the leader and all but I did save this copy for Blake." Tukson held the novel just out of Ruby's reach and looked over her head to Blake.

"She's uhh.." Blake wasn't sure for a moment if Ruby remembered the offer she had made earlier in the week and didn't want to assume, "We read them together so."

"Yeah, plus I'm getting it as a present for her." Ruby left her Lien on the counter and turned back to smile at Blake. "Remember? I promised you I would." Now it was Blake's turn to look at the ground in embarrassment. Of course Ruby had remembered, it was Ruby. She never forgot about things she was trying to do for her friends, about offers of kindness.

"Well you two are very cute together. I wish I had two copies for you." Tukson quickly scooped up the money and made change, bagging their book and handing it all back to Ruby with well practiced ease. "Did you want me to hold onto another for you when I get more in?" Blake watched as Ruby didn't react to his comment about them being cute at all, took it completely in stride. Was she okay with that? Had it gone over her head? In her excitement had she just completely ignored him?

"No that's okay, thanks. Like she said," Ruby turned back to face Blake again, "We read them together anyways." Ruby wrapped the bag around her wrist and skipped back over to Blake, cloak billowing out behind her.

"Thank you Tukson. It was very kind of you to hold onto one for me." Blake gave him one final wave as Ruby returned to her side.

"Not a problem at all. Be safe you two, come back soon." Tukson grabbed another stack of books and resumed stocking the shelves. Blake and Ruby left the store and broke out into the mid afternoon sun in the streets of Vale. It was still plenty bright out, a couple hours left before night really set in and since he had saved them a copy the visit to the bookstore really had taken that long at all.

"Did you want to head back yet?" Blake asked of her companion.

"Not yet, no. I mean unless you want to. I just want to make sure Yang and Weiss get time to themselves. I don't want to walk in on anything." Ruby laughed happily, much less disturbed by the thought then Blake might have thought. Possibly because she was still on top of the world thanks to the hard back she was carrying, possibly because she was just enjoying herself in general. Either way, Blake hoped it kept up because she loved seeing Ruby this happy.

"Well, why don't we go to a little cafe then? It's just down here." Blake pointed down the block towards a cafe she was particularly fond of. They had wonderful tea, a small bakery that made pastries and great views of the city from their rooftop tables. It would be a wonderful way to sit with Ruby and enjoy the last bits of the afternoon.

"Okay, that sounds great." Ruby started down the sidewalk and turned when Blake didn't immediately follow. "Come on Blake." Ruby motioned with her whole arm for Blake to follow and left her arm hanging out in the air towards her. Was that an offer? Blake decided that it really couldn't hurt, just cause Ruby and herself a moment of awkward laughter at worst and stepped forward to take Ruby's arm in her own.

"I'm coming. I'm coming. You're always in such a hurry." Blake teased as she snaked her elbow through Ruby's, linking their arms together. Ruby smiled and headed down the street, now towing Blake along with her at a pace much faster than she was used to walking, but still enjoyable since they were together.

The cafe was fairly full but everyone inside was quiet and calm enough that it wasn't loud or bustling, just snug like a blanket on a cold day. Blake slid her jacket off her shoulders and slung it over her arm again, releasing Ruby once they were in the store itself.

"Good afternoon, welcome." the hostess greeted them happily. "Are you dining in or taking out?" Blake glanced around the full seating area and hazarded the risk.

"Are there any seats left on the terrace?" She asked hopefully. Perhaps the colder weather would force other inside, but she and Ruby would be fine out there.

"Yes, we have plenty of seating there." the hostess gestured towards the order counter, "Please just order and seat yourself."

"Thanks." Ruby smiled at the woman and trotted over to the pastry display. Blake nodded her thanks as well and followed after her. "Oh my Oum, Blake." Ruby tore her gaze away from the pastries as Blake caught up. "Why have you been hiding this place from me?"

"I haven't been hiding it from you," Blake chuckled, "You never asked." Ruby pushed at her playfully.

"You know I'd love it. You should have drug me here." Ruby jerked her arms out to show the stacks and stacks of chocolate filled or covered goodies behind the glass. "Look at all that." Blake couldn't take her eyes off Ruby, she looked like she was about to explode from excitement.

"Well, you get whatever you want." Blake lifted her wallet out of her back pocket. She didn't have much in the way of spending money, but Ruby had just bought her that book which was an incredibly thoughtful gift and meant that the money she had been saving for it could now be spent on the little brunette instead.

"Blake you don't have to do that." Ruby settled down incredibly, "Really, it's okay."

"No, no." She stepped past Ruby to the check-out stand to order her tea, "It's my turn to get you something. Come on now, you get anything you want, really." She knew Ruby would rebel at the thought, she loved treating people but didn't like being treated. But, that was just too bad. Blake was going to buy her some chocolatey goodness and that's all there was to it.

"Okay, okay. I get it." Ruby threw her hands up in defeat, "This isn't the end of this though, mark my words Blake Belladona. I will buy you a snack." Ruby gestured threateningly with her finger to make her point known.

The pair found the terrace almost completely deserted, only one couple sitting in the far corner, talking quietly and drinking coffees together. Blake and Ruby took their things and headed to the far opposite side of the balcony, out near the exterior corner facing the street and looking out over the city.

"Aren't they so cute." Ruby pointed as subliminally as she could over at the couple in the far corner. It was a boy and a girl about their age. Both had dark brown hair and were dressed rather plainly. What caught Blake was that the boy had a pair of small, broad antlers extending from out of his hair and the girl had no Faunus traits to speak of. Were they an actual mixed couple?

"They really are. I'm so glad people can accept each other like that." Blake eased down next to Ruby at their small table and purposefully looked away from the couple, giving them their privacy.

"You know. I mean, I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. I'm just saying. It would be okay if you took your bow off sometimes too. I know you don't want to, and that's totally okay. I get it. Really." Ruby looked down at the her cup and ran her finger around the lid in a circle. "I just. I think your ears are cute. I think other people would too." Ruby lifted the cup quickly and took a drink to cut herself off. Blake sat in silence for a moment, trying to find the best way to explain it to Ruby without going on a rant about her thoughts on being a Faunus in modern day Vale.

"I know you do Ruby. I really appreciate that about you. It's just, not everyone is as kind as you and I'm not ready to do that yet." Blake reached across the table and squeezed Ruby's hand, "But thank you so much. I'm glad you think they're cute." Blake forced herself to retract her hand back to her side of the table and clutch her tea.

Ruby sat without speaking for a few seconds and continued to stare at her cup. Blake was starting to feel concerned that she may have offended her somehow but then Ruby broke the silence.

"It just makes me so mad you can't be who you are." Ruby grumbled and Blake looked down and saw her hand was squeezing her cup quite hard, "Like, you're an awesome amazing, super smart beautiful person and you have to hide something about yourself just because other people suck." Blake drug her chair over to Ruby's side and slung her arm across the younger girl's shoulders.

"Hey, it's okay Ruby." Blake squeezed her tight, "Don't get mad about it really." Ruby's hand relaxed a little and she faced Blake. It was only then that Blake noticed just how close they were now, faces just a foot or so apart. "We're trying to change that right? That's why I'm a huntress at least. I want to show people that Faunus are on the same side. I want to show we aren't all like the White Fang." Ruby relaxed further and released her cup completely.

"How do you stay so calm about it Blake?" She leaned her head against Blake's shoulder and dropped her hands into her lap. Blake's breath caught as she realized they looked closer and more intimate than the couple they had been watching. "I'm not even a Faunus and it makes me so mad I wanna punch someone."

"I've just…" Blake paused to consider her answer, "I guess I've just been dealing with it my whole life so I know that punching someone won't really fix it." Blake pulled away from Ruby slightly, not wanting to give anyone the wrong idea about them. Tukson already thought they were dating and who knows, maybe the hostess here did too since apparently only couples were coming out here right now. As much as Blake may have wanted that to be the case, it wasn't yet and she didn't want to put Ruby in a weird spot that she wasn't prepared for.

"You're so awesome." Ruby sat up on her own as Blake pulled away, but not far enough to pull Blake's arm off her shoulders.

"I'm not that great Ruby." Blake paused and let her arm fall, "I mean. That boy over there wears his antlers out in the open and I can't even show off my ears. I'm a coward compared-" Blake found her mouth suddenly full of muffin.

"Don't you dare call yourself a coward Blake." Ruby pushed the muffin further into Blake's mouth with a single finger, poking the bread between her lips. "You are brave and you fight Grimm and you are not a coward." Ruby stopped poking and looked at the mess she had made, "And you owe me another muffin because you ruined that one."

Blake brushed the mess off her lap and ate what she could of the muffin to clear her mouth enough that she could speak.

"I'm sorry. I just get upset sometimes that I'm able to hide it and others aren't." Blake wiped more crumbs from her mouth. "But you're right. I'll stop." Blake looked at their remaining snacks and realized she wasn't all that hungry anymore. "Do you just wanna split my croissant? I don't want to try and explain why we need even more chocolaty snacks." Blake laughed and was relieved when Ruby did the same.

"Yeah Blake, I could share with you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Sorry I'm posting later than usual today. They're actually making me do work at work, what terrible fiends. But here it is, chapter 41 and a progression down the road to Ladybugs.
> 
> I don't deal with themes like racism and sexual discrimination well because I am a heterosexual, white male in my early twenties and so have absolutely nothing to base those scenes on. I try to read the work of other fantastic authors (many of them here) and base my works on that as well as what is presented in the show as "Faunus Racism" in Vale. So, hopefully I do the topics justice. But, if I am ever insensitive about a particular theme or interpret something incorrectly and present a harmful view of any type of person, please let me know. The mistake stems only from ignorance which I am trying desperately to alleviate.
> 
> That said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The breaking point here is a little awkward but Thursday's chapter will be another focused on Ruby and Blake's 'outing' (cause it's totally not a date right?) So, sorry if it seemed to break off a little weird.


	42. Something in the Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

"I don't think we can buy them any more time Ruby." Blake stretched as they exited the cafe. Ruby was still carrying the book she had bought for Blake and the sun was just starting to dip down and throw ruddy orange hues across the city.

"Nope, no more spending money you're right." Ruby laughed and trotted off towards the corner. "I do have one more idea of something we can do though. Totally free and totally awesome I promise." Ruby threw her hand into a mock salute and burst into giggles, "Wanna go?"

"Do I get to know what this idea is? I feel like it might get me in trouble." Blake started to move down the sidewalk towards Ruby none the less.

"Uhhhh, nope." Ruby popped the final 'p' and spun off across the street. She knew Blake would come, she knew she trusted her and cherished her friendship. That's what made Ruby so nervous about how she had felt the other night and she had felt almost all day today. Why did she feel like this towards Blake? It had been one little kiss on the cheek. Totally just a friendly gesture. Just like how offering her shoulder for Ruby to lean on was just a friendly thing, just them cuddling while they read, totally normal right? She and Yang did it all the time.

They got to come have awesome days like this where they just hung out and were friends and Blake bought Ruby snacks and Ruby bought Blake a book they could read together. It was just nice to have someone to spend time with like that. So, why was Ruby feeling like she needed to be nervous around Blake and that she might take things the wrong way or that she needed to hide things from her? This was how she felt when she didn't want Jaune to know she liked him because of Pyrrha.

Oh no.

Ruby skidded to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk, halfway down the block towards the corner where she had been taking Blake. This was _exactly_ how she had felt about Jaune. Was Ruby falling for Blake? Did she like her? No way, no way, no way. Blake was her friend and Yang's partner and a girl. Sure Yang liked girls and apparently Weiss did too. That didn't mean Ruby did right? She had been dating Jaune after all and that had felt fine, like totally fine. Well it had before it hadn't but that was different. That wasn't because he was a boy or anything.

"Are you okay Ruby?" Blake came up to her side where she had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. They had come way too far towards her initial goal for Ruby to turn around now or even change where they were headed. She was stuck in this and it was her fault so she just had to go with it.

"Yeah. I just." Ruby stopped, trying to come up with a reason for her sudden stop that wasn't completely ridiculous. "You said earlier that I was rushing too much so I slowed down a little. Had to let you catch up didn't I?" Ruby giggled and skipped away a few steps. What was she going to do?

Now that Ruby was acutely aware of how she was feeling about Blake, she realized that her plan of how to spend the rest of their afternoon and evening wasn't exactly as ordinary as she had thought. It was actually rather close and romantic and possibly even intimate. Was that okay? She and Blake did all kinds of things together as just the two of them, this shouldn't be any different should it?

"Well it's not like I'm slow." Blake appeared at Ruby's side quite suddenly, throwing her brain completely out of sorts and causing her to stumble forward. She caught herself and then felt Blake's hands, one at her shoulder and the other around her waist, holding her up. "You okay there?"

"Oh yeah," Ruby giggled and stepped out of Blake's grip, confidently on her own two feet again. "Come on we're here." Ruby bounded past Blake through a small gate set between two low walls. Past that wall was a park Ruby had found some time ago but almost never had a chance to visit since it was all the way down in Vale. It was really rather large, taking up a few blocks, and thickly forested with large trees and dense foliage that completely blocked out the sounds of the surrounding city. There was a winding path sweeping through the whole place with plenty of benches and tables to sit at. There was even a small lake near the middle, really it was a big pond, but it was always full of ducks and stuff that you could feed. Ruby wanted to come here more often but she didn't think it was the kind of place the whole team would enjoy. That's why she thought that since it was just her and Blake they might enjoy it.

"Oh Ruby." Blake's eyes went wide as she stared around the impressive opening to the forest. Branches heavy with leaves hung low into the trail and despite the still setting sun, the path was illuminated only by the small lamps set into it every few feet on either side. "This is beautiful." Blake turned and Ruby knew she must be blushing so she made a show of looking down the path. How could she be so dumb, bringing Blake somewhere like this. It was obviously meant for couples to take romantic walks and they were not a couple right? So they really shouldn't be here.

"It's a lot darker than I thought it would be." Ruby tried to come up with a reason for them to leave, "I wanted to walk and sit and maybe read our book and stuff, but it's kinda dark for that now. I'm sorry I drug you out here for nothing." Ruby turned and headed back for the gate sullenly, hoping Blake would follow and they could return to the dorm room without incident. She would message Yang on her scroll that they were coming back so she and Weiss could stop doing whatever they were doing and then they would just sleep and go to class tomorrow and it would be totally fine.

"No come on. We're already out here and everything." Blake caught Ruby's arm and pulled her into the forest. "This was such an awesome idea, we can't waste it." Ruby suppressed a startled yelp as Blake drug her down the path. It was so unlike Blake to be so forward about something, the idea of the path and a walk together must have really excited her.

"Are you sure?" Ruby stopped trying to resist and figured that if Blake really was okay with this then she might as well try and enjoy it with her. Blake didn't answer but just continued down the path, slowing to a much easier pace once they were completely consumed by the woods.

The canopy of intertwined branches and leaves overhead served to block out most of the light and created a surreal sense of twilight on the trail. The small lamps along the road were much brighter once they were under the trees than they had appeared from outside. The air was heavy with the scent of the small, transplanted forest and motes of dust drifted through the air, catching on stray beams of sunlight that managed to pierce through the thicket above. The air felt close to Ruby, like it was dense and heavy. She came up beside Blake, but, her companion didn't release her wrist even after they had walked a few steps side by side.

"Uhh Blake," Ruby started quietly once they were well down the path. Blake immediately let go of Ruby's wrist and turned to her.

"Sorry, I got kinda caught up in looking at the trees and stuff. I didn't hurt your wrist did I?" Blake seemed honestly abashed and leaned down a little to try and examine Ruby's wrist without touching it again.

"No no." Ruby lifted up her hand and twisted it about to prove to Blake that no harm had been done. "Actually. I wanted to ask what you thought of Weiss and Yang." Blake stood to her full height and reared back just a little in surprise. "I mean you asked me the other night but I never really asked how you felt about it."

"Oh, okay." She settled slightly and relaxed her shoulders once more, "Well I think they're really cute together. I like that Weiss is happier with Yang and it's nice that Weiss can make Yang stop with the jokes sometimes. I just hope they can take things nice and slow and not burn out because if they break up it will be even worse than it was before with the fighting and the arguing all the time."

"Yeah, I hope they stay together too. It's been a long time since I've seen someone make Yang that happy so I think she's serious about it." Ruby took a step back and leaned against one of the small concrete lamps lining the path. "But I meant about it being...well they're both girls and…" Ruby didn't know how to say what she was trying to say. She wanted to see how Blake felt about girls dating girls, was it something she okay with? If it wasn't then Ruby had to totally give up on whatever she was feeling for Blake right now and just squash it.

"Well, like I said. If it works for them then why not? They can love…" Blake stopped, "They can be with whoever they want. It shouldn't matter to anyone else." Ruby lifted herself all the way up to sit on top of the lamp, the light spilling out around her feet.

"Have you ever…? Would you…?" Ruby stopped and hopped off the lamp, "You know what, nevermind. Let's just keep walking." Ruby started down the path.

"No Ruby wait," Blake called out quietly and Ruby stopped but didn't turn, "You can ask me anything. You know that right?" Ruby still didn't turn. "Really. Anything that's ever bugging you. It won't change anything."

"I just…" Ruby scuffed her boot against the ground and tried desperately to not knead her cloak. She knew that she did that when she was nervous and flustered and she knew Blake knew that. She didn't want her to know just how big of a deal this was to her right now. That might reveal how she felt, that might make Blake uncomfortable, that might ruin all this. "I just wonder about stuff I guess. Like doing things different." She heard Blake take a tentative step towards her.

"Lots of people do things differently Ruby. It's not a big deal. Look how happy Weiss and your sister are and everyone is happy for them." Blake stopped again, still a few feet from Ruby.

"Would you ever?" She stopped, "Have you ever thought about that?" Ruby started to turn but stopped and looked out into the woods, still with her back to Blake.

"Oh… Me?" She didn't know how Blake reacted, she still wouldn't look at her, but she sounded confused, "Well, I have thought about it yeah. But… I couldn't be with just anyone no matter what. Boy or girl. It would have to be special for me to trust someone like that."

"Yeah. You're right. It would have to be special." Ruby shoved her hand in her pockets and felt the heavy book thump against her leg. "Do you… Do you wanna find somewhere to sit and read?" Ruby finally turned and faced her friend, holding up the book still in its bag.

"That would be nice." Blake took the final few steps over to Ruby and they continued down the path until they found a small alcove, set apart from the walking area and separated by a small hedge. There was a bench there and two large lamps high above that cast an even yellow light on the whole clearing. "Can you see here well enough to read?" Blake asked and Ruby took a second to let her eyes adjust to the different lighting and pulled the book out to check. Since it was a hardback the print was fairly large and the pages were still crisp and clean, she could read it just fine under the lamps.

"Yeah I can read great." Ruby held it out to her, "But I like it when you read more." Blake accepted the book with a smile and gave Ruby the opportunity to sit first. Ruby folded up the bag and tucked it in her pocket so they could use it to carry and protect the book on the way back and took her seat. Blake sat down at her side, leaving nearly a full foot of empty bench between them. She opened the book and thumbed through to the opening page when ruby stopped her, "Hey Blake. I can still read but aren't you kinda far?" Ruby looked back and forth between her and the gap between them.

She still didn't want to make anything weird for her. But, she and Blake had sat much, much closer than this before. They had done so in the library, in class, in Blake's bed when they were in the dorm. The last example that came to mind made Ruby blush, remembering just how close and alone they had been.

"I just mean, it's kinda hard to follow along when you're over there. Maybe you could-" Ruby stopped as Blake scooted over to her, pressing their thighs up against each other and resting the spine of the book where their legs met.

"Is that better?" Blake reopened the book to the first page and waited for Ruby to answer. Blake was so close now and in the low light provided by the lamps her amber eyes stood out against their muted surroundings. The entire setting was unnerving for Ruby in a way that she didn't quite understand, but she didn't want it to stop. It didn't make her uncomfortable. But, it put all her senses on edge. Like she was getting ready for a fight or thought she had lost a bolt for _Crescent Rose_.

"Yeah," she finally managed, "Yeah that's much better." Ruby lowered her hand to her side of the book and held the page while Blake held the other side.

Blake opened in reading the story aloud to Ruby. She kept her voice low and quiet out of respect for the environment they were in and because there was no need to be loud. The only sounds that accompanied them were the soft humming of the lamps and the occasional footsteps of someone walking by. Blake made it through the first few chapters of the novel and then reached a point where the author changed perspectives to another character in a different setting.

"Do you want to read this section?" Blake pointed at the large page break where the perspective switched. "It might be nice if we always read the same parts, to give each section its own feel."

"Oh, uhh sure." Ruby found the start of the line and did her best to read as well as Blake had. It wasn't that Blake used voices for the characters like Yang used to when Ruby was little, or made sound effects to accompany action scenes. She just read so well. The way she moved smoothly through the words and flowed from page to page without stopping. It seemed like she always knew where to take breaths so that it wouldn't interrupt the story and flipped the page before she was done so she could pick up on the next one without pausing. Then there was the way she read, so engrossing, so captivating. She would speed up and slow down with the pace of the story as she went. Lower her voice just slightly in serious parts and keep it high and light during happy scenes. They had read together like this a few times and every time Ruby was just blown away at how good of a reader Blake was.

She tried to do as well as her, though she knew she failed horribly. She fumbled through the next couple of pages, having to stop to breathe during long paragraphs and missing the last few words of a page and having to go back when she tried to flip early like Blake did. She wanted to stop and apologize for ruining it for her, but if she stopped that would just be worse wouldn't it? So Ruby plowed through, trying her best but not living up to what she wanted. She reached the end of her character's chapters and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Now Blake could take back over and they could both enjoy themselves again.

"Oh wow, that's such a good start. Don't you think?" Blake laid her hand on the book. Ruby kept her eyes down, staring at the pages. She was so embarrassed. Blake had probably just been tired of reading out loud and had just read along on her own the whole time.

"Yeah. I'm really glad I caught up in time to read it with you." Ruby scanned the next few lines and saw that it switched back to the character Blake was reading for. Thank Oum, that way it would definitely be her turn.

"Me too. I really like having you read to me Ruby." Blake said quietly and Ruby jerked her head up quickly, nearly bashing into Blake's nose. She stopped and their faces were just a few inches apart, both hovering over the book.

"Really?" Ruby said quietly, startled by the closeness, by Blake's compliment.

"Yeah." Blake didn't move back, "You have a really nice voice for it and you get so into the reading. I feel like my voice is boring when I read sometimes."

"No it isn't," Ruby wished she had another muffin to shove in Blake's mouth but there was nothing there but them. She hated it when Blake put herself down like that, especially when it was about stuff she was actually really good at. "You read really, really well Blake. I love it when you read for me like this. It makes the book so much better."

"Oh Ruby," Blake's cheeks flushed and Ruby felt a sense of pride that her compliment meant that much to her, that it could affect her like that. "Thank you, that's so sweet."

Blake's lips split into a smile and Ruby was suddenly very aware of their proximity. Blake's eyes and lips were so close, she could feel her warm breath on her nose, ghosting against her face. Ruby jerked her head back down to the book.

"So do you wanna keep going?" Ruby asked, not daring to look up and see how Blake had reacted.

"Actually, it's getting kinda late don't you think? Maybe we should head back." Blake pulled out her scroll and showed Ruby the time. It was already past nine and they still had to make it back to the airship and ride back to Beacon. Weiss would undoubtedly tear them up for being out so late but they had been doing the same they would have done in the dorm room, just here so that she and Yang could have some private time. Of course, that had resulted in giving Ruby and Blake private time as well and she didn't know exactly how she felt about that. They were very close and this had been very, very nice.

"Yeah. Weiss is gonna yell at us and I bet Yang won't even help defend us against her anymore." Ruby chuckled and stood slowly, not wanting to break contact with Blake but not wanting to prolong this any more either. She stretched her arms and legs and pulled the baggy out of her pocket.

"Oh you held on to that?" Blake laughed, "You didn't have to do that." She slid the book easily into the bag that Ruby held open for her.

"I didn't want your book to get hurt on the airship ride. It was a gift after all." Ruby smiled and felt her hand brush against Blake's as they slid the book in. She jerked back instinctively at the contact and tried to play it off by tying the bag shut.

"Are you okay?" Blake looked concerned, after all Ruby had just basically jumped away from her.

"Yeah, yeah I think I'm just a little tired is all." Ruby faked a bad yawn and slipped her wrist through the loops at the top of the bag. "I might fall asleep on the airship at this point." Ruby tried to laugh but it all came out muddled and terrible sounding. Blake gave her a sympathetic smile and offered her arm to Ruby. Ruby hesitated, not sure if she should make that contact again so soon. She was still trying to get a handle on how she felt and things like this did not make that easier.

"Come on," Blake beckoned with a nod of her head back towards the path, "You can't sleep here." Ruby finally acquiesced and looped her arm through Blake's slowly. Once they were joined they began the slow walk out of the forested haven. They emerged out into the city lights and Ruby realized again just how late it was and how long they had been alone. The moon was already up in the sky and the last vestiges of sunlight had completely vanished.

"It really is late. Do you wanna get something to eat before we go back? We kinda skipped dinner." Ruby glanced up and down the block, looking for someplace they could stop in really quickly.

"Well, the cafeteria is definitely closed by now and I am hungry." Blake lifted a finger to her chin in thought. "Did you have something in mind?" Ruby didn't want to sit down and eat, she probably just wanted to get something that they could take with them on the airship ride back, like burgers. Then it hit Ruby. That burger place she had gone with Yang and everyone after the salon, that was on the way back to the airship pad, the same one they had used to get to the club.

"Come on. I have an idea." The promise of more french fries and chocolate shake clouded Ruby's thoughts momentarily and she slipped her arm out of Blake's and grabbed her hand, nearly dragging her down the sidewalk in her haste. A few steps into her mad dash Ruby realized what she was doing and nearly tripped over herself in mortification. She was holding Blake's hand and pulling her along behind her. She wanted to drop Blake's hand but at the same time she didn't want to ever let go. She thought she should stop running and apologize but looked back and saw that Blake was happily keeping up, a small smile on her lips.

So Ruby just kept going. Blake didn't seem upset by it and it honestly wasn't that weird of a thing for Ruby to do anyways. She was always getting overly excited and dragging one of her teammates off somewhere, usually not Weiss though, she always yelled at her. So, if this way Ruby got to hold her hand and she didn't mind then there wasn't really a reason to stop was there? Ruby delighted in the idea that she was going to get to show Blake something as delicious as fries in chocolate and the next few blocks seemed to fly by in a blur of excitement. The small bell above the door dinged as Ruby finally pulled Blake inside.

"A little bit excited huh?" Blake asked with a light chuckle as they caught their breath.

"You've gotta try this thing Nora showed me." Ruby said between breaths and Blake screwed up her face at the prospect of one of Ruby and Nora's treats. "It's totally delicious, just trust me."

"Hello again." The bright, cheery voice of Pyrrha carried to Ruby's ears through the crowd and she turned to see the tall Mistralian girl. What caught Ruby really off-guard, more than Pyrrha being out late at a burger place, was who was with her. Pyrrha was standing hand in hand with Jaune.

"Hey guys," Blake smiled cheerfully at them, probably happy to have run into more of their friends in such an unlikely place. Ruby immediately dropped her hand and went stiff. Jaune was here, with Pyrrha and they looked to be very much together. "Why are you two out so late?" Pyrrha's face went a little red and Jaune rubbed at the back of his neck that way he did when he was nervous but knew there was no way out.

"Well, we're kinda here to celebrate." Jaune looked over at Pyrrha and stayed there.

"Yes, he was able to convince me that a cheese burger would be acceptable because it was a special occasion." Pyrrha turned and faced him as well and for a moment they just stared at each other. Ruby didn't need any further proof. The two of them were definitely together. She was hit by conflicting emotions all at once, anger, regret, happiness. She loved that Pyrrha had finally gotten Jaune to notice her and it had seemed to work out. But, she hated that Jaune had noticed her so quickly after they broke up. She knew she shouldn't be, but she felt just a little tiny bit jealous, the same way she had felt when she realized Jaune and Pyrrha spent all that time together training without her while they were still dating.

"And what exactly is it you two are celebrating? Hmm?" Blake asked with a very knowing lilt to her voice. She knew the answer but she was going to make them come out and say it.

"Well…" Jaune stammered, "I uhh, I may have finally realized…" Jaune shifted his gaze quickly to Ruy and then back to Blake, "Pyrrha told me how she felt and we're sort of dating now… I guess." Pyrrha slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"It has only been one day. But it does appear that way, yes." Pyrrha watched Blake for a second and then dropped her gaze to Ruby. "Jaune could you find us a table?" She asked sweetly. He smiled, gave her a quick peck on the cheek and trotted off into the impressively still busy restaurant to find a table for four. After he was a few steps away, Pyrrha moved quickly towards Ruby. "Ruby, I'm sorry. This isn't how I wanted you to find out." Ruby lifted her head and looked the other girl in the eye.

"No, it's great Pyrrha." she forced a smile, "I'm really happy for you." She knew how obvious it was, how fake her smile looked, that Pyrrha and Blake would see right through it.

"Ruby, I want you to be okay with this." Pyrrha set a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I know Pyrrha. I do to." Ruby's smile dropped, "I want you two to be happy. Really." Pyrrha stepped forward and gave Ruby a quick hug.

"Do you still want to get anything Ruby?" Blake asked once Pyrrha had stepped away.

"Actually, could we just go? I'm sorry Blake." She looked between her two friends. She hated that she was feeling this way, that she was this immature about it. But she would hate it worse if she stayed and caused a scene because she said something she didn't mean or started crying or any of the dumb things she might do.

"It's okay Ruby." Blake put a hand on Ruby's shoulder and gave her a small, reassuring squeeze, "Pyrrha, could tell Jaune we just got drinks and left or something? I don't want him to think we ran out." Pyrrha nodded in confirmation and Ruby was glad Blake had thought of that. "Thanks Pyrrha." Blake turned and walked Ruby out the front door before Jaune could return, they made it around the nearest corner before Ruby said anything.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't care." Ruby said quietly, glad Blake had taken her hand off her shoulder.

"No, no, it's fine." Blake pulled Ruby into a light side hug and then let go completely. "That's totally understandable. You were just barely getting over it right? Of course it's hard to know that he likes someone else like that already." Ruby wished Blake hadn't stopped holding her but that made her realize. Why was she so upset with Jaune if she had been fretting over Blake all afternoon? How could she be so enamored with someone else and still be upset that Jaune was doing the same. She started moving forward again. If Jaune could already be okay and be with someone else then so could she. Who cared if it was a girl, and her teammate, and Blake. She liked her, that's all that mattered right?

"I think I'll be okay," Ruby said much more positively now that she had made up her mind. "It just really caught me off guard, I just saw them yesterday when I sparred Pyrrha and they weren't dating then." Ruby pulled her cloak a little tighter around her shoulders to ward off the cold that Blake had been perfectly right about.

"You handled it really well honestly. I can imagine how hard that must have been." Blake returned to Ruby's side, walking so close their arms brushed.

"I'm just ready to get back home and sleep." Ruby chuckled, glad that the tension she felt in the restaurant was easing away now. The airship descended to the platform still a little ways off and both girls broke into a light jog to make it in plenty of time. The ship was mostly empty, some obvious Beacon students making their way back up the hill, the same as them. Blake and Ruby found a deserted section of bench by one of the bulkheads and sat together.

"Oh wow," Ruby yawned, "We made it just in time I guess." Blake laughed and the ship started up and away from the round. There were a few stops before it headed back up to Beacon from where they were so they would be on the ship for a little while.

"You know. It would be okay if you wanted to take a nap." Blake turned a little and leaned against the bulkhead, offering Ruby her shoulder as she had the other night. Ruby wanted to say the offer made her nervous but the combination of fatigue, stress over Pyrrha and Jaune, and how familiar and inviting Blake's shoulder looked overwhelmed her. She hummed a little noise of acceptance and leaned down to rest her head on Blake and before she knew it, was fast asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Hurray, angsty fun. I try to avoid getting too into the angst (though this story appears to be an exception). Was the park scene at least adorable enough to offset it? I hope so, because it was almost too cute to write.
> 
> I do want to say here, I forget if I've mentioned it before but, we are nearly done with the story. "Friends and Loved Ones" is fifty chapters long and that's all there is too it. My first day of going back to classes is September 22 and that's the day the last chapter will publish. After that I will be posting other, much shorter stories that I have been working on while this has been coming out. I'm not sure what my publication schedule will be as I'll be in school on Tuesdays and Thursdays (my usual publish days) so idk yet. But I will figure it out and let you know as we get closer.
> 
> Hope you all are thoroughly enjoying the story. I know I am as I publish it. Thanks so much for all the support. Can't wait to hear from you.
> 
> -Zach


	43. Partners (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Yang twisted on the ball of her foot, dropped her left arm into a low block to catch Blake's kick and countered with a quick jab to her midsection, a follow up heavy left to her chin and that was it. The loud buzzer sounded and the sparring match was over. Yang was breathing heavily, winded from the extended bout. Blake looked even worse for ware, granted she had lost so that only seemed natural.

"Very well done Miss Xiao Long." Professor Goodwitch stepped in between them and began lecturing to the class on the pointers they should be taking away from the combat they just watched. Yang's unending drive and endless assault overwhelming Blake's ability to dodge and counter. Blake and Yang collected themselves quickly and moved back towards their seats. Yang snuck up to Blake's side and whispered in her ear before they got back to their team.

"Alright, I get to claim a prize right?" Yang whispered and Blake sighed. She looked upset but Yang knew her partner loved these games, no matter how much she pretended not to. Placing a little informal bet on every one of their matches kept things competitive and interesting. They fought each other so often that it could get dull otherwise.

"I suppose," Blake never turned her head to look at the bubbly blonde girl beside her. Playing hard to get, well that was just fine with what Yang had in mind.

"Okay, well I want partner time." Yang jabbed Blake playfully in the shoulder and jumped out in front of her as they moved up the stairs. Blake sighed again and shook her head with a small chuckle.

"I think we can manage that." Blake shooed Yang up the stairs so they could sit before Professor Goodwitch yelled at them. Yang pumped her fist in the air once in a quick celebration of victory and finished bounding to her seat. She and Blake were now seated on the far end of their row, pressed up against Team JNPR. This was so that Yang and Weiss could still sit with one another during class. Ruby was by the aisle and Blake wound up next to Ren. That worked just fine as she probably would have grown tired of sitting with Nora quite quickly.

Then there were JNPR's other two members, Jaune and Pyrrha. They had started dating over the weekend and were the worst, most lovesick couple Yang had ever seen. There had been times when Yang felt like she was head over heels for someone, a couple relationships back at Signal had run their course far too quickly because she ran in guns blazing and the actual emotional output came up short. She was trying to keep it nice and slow with Weiss to prevent that same burnout from happening again. But these two? They just didn't quit. Yang felt kind of bad for Ren and Nora having to share space with them. Especially since they made such an effort to keep their own shows of affection in check.

Yang rustled Ruby's hair as she scooted into the row past her and plopped down between Weiss and Blake, happy that she could relax through the rest of class after her fight. Weiss slid her hand over and squeezed Yang's just briefly.

"Congratulations Yang," her girlfriend whispered, "That was a good fight." Yang had to suppress a girlish giggle. Weiss never complimented anyone like that, but, since they had started dating Yang had been the joyous recipient of more than a few stray compliments. She wanted to lean over and kiss the girl but she knew that wouldn't go well, not in Professor Goodwitch's class.

"Aww thanks," Yang decided to settle for a tease instead, "Do you like seeing me fight like that?" She turned her head slowly and found a very suspicious set of blue eyes staring back at her, "Ya know, girl on girl action like that. It's gotta be nice to watch." Yang winked and Weiss's face went redder than their uniforms. She yanked her hand away from Yang and crossed her arms with an indignant hpmf.

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about." Weiss scooted away a little, even though they were in individual chairs, and began taking notes. On what? Yang had no idea. The Professor had stopped lecturing and was preparing for the next match already.

"Hey, Weiss, hey." Yang leaned over and poked her in the shoulder.

"No Yang." Weiss refused to look.

"But Weiss, it's important." Yang poked her again, letting her hair fall off her shoulder and into Weiss's seat.

"No Yang." Weiss continued to stare at her notebook as she scribbled furiously.

"Okay fine. I won't tell you then." It was with that line that Yang knew she had her. The next pair of fighters went up, Terry from APCT and Russel from CRDL. Yang knew this fight was going to be just like when Perry and Sky fought, though hopefully not interrupted by Nora this time. Luckily, a boring fight would mean that there was nothing to distract Weiss from the bait Yang had left hanging.

The match was exactly as dull as Yang had predicted. Russel dove in with daggers, Terry deflected with his huge shield. Terry attacked with his lightning flail, Russel rolled out of the way. It looked like they were taking turns. They weren't just boring, they were bad. Yang sat patiently and watched Weiss fidget and shift in her seat, looking over towards Yang from time to time. The plan wouldn't work if she acknowledged it, so, Yang was having to pretend to be at least somewhat interested in the fight. She would wince when one of them got hit, feint a duck if there was a close call. All in all, it seemed to be working as Weiss's fidgeting grew more intense and she began staring at Yang more than she watched the actual fight.

"Yang," Weiss tapped her on the shoulder and whispered quietly, "You can tell me now. I'm sorry. I was busy taking notes before." Yang knew she was just covering. She turned with a grin towards Weiss.

"Well I just thought you might want to know I was going out with another girl tonight." Yang turned back to the fight without betraying a trace of her amusement, "But I guess you were busy."

"What-?" Weiss nearly shouted but caught herself just in time, "Who?" She whispered with deadly calm.

"Well…" Yang drew out the noise, and Weiss's agony. "She's really tall. Has long beautiful black hair. Really good at fighting and plus she knows how keep quiet." Yang turned and gave Weiss a very suggestive wink. Whether Weiss took that as a stab at her most recent outburst during class, or a mention of the adorable little moans she made when Yang kissed at her neck just right, well that was up to her.

"Oh Yang. I swear." Weiss crossed her arms again, "If you're spending time with Blake just tell me." she turned away in a huff and Yang's fun was ruined. Of course Weiss had seen through her joke and not wanted to play along. But now Yang would have to spend the rest of the class in sullen silence, and make it up to Weiss once they were free for the day. Probably with a walk through the gardens and fountains and stuff, just the two of them, that would be nice. But, first she had more pressing things to deal with, like Blake. "So you're going to talk to her tonight then?" Weiss asked without turning back to Yang.

"Yeah," Yang was glad Weiss remembered, "I figure it's better sooner rather than later."

"Do you want me to do my part?" Weiss turned and kept her voice conspiratorially low.

"If you don't mind." Yang slid her hand over and grabbed Weiss's this time, "Thank you." Weiss nodded her head and gave Yang a curt smile. She looked over her head to see if Ruby had overheard but she was terribly busy taking a nap.

"Of course Yang. I'm not doing it for you. Not that-" Weiss was cut short by a sharp snap from their Professor's riding crop. Both Yang and Weiss fell into silence and returned their attention to the match below. Weiss yanked her hand free of Yang's and slapped her wrist gently. Yang just smiled and thought of how their walk later might end.

* * *

"Alright Yang," Blake scooted back on the bench they were sharing, "What's up?"

"Whaddya mean?" Yang threw a hand against her chest defensively, "Can't I just want to spend time with my partner? I can't believe you would accuse me of-"

"Cut it Yang," Blake said levelly, "You asked if we could hang out. You never ask. You just drag me along on all of your crazy adventures, just like Ruby. So what's up?" Yang dropped her hand and laughed heartily, letting the sound cover up the sad failure of her attempts at being subtle.

"Okay, okay fine. I just wanna ask you some stuff. We haven't gotten a lot of time to hang out since Weiss and I started dating and I wanted to make sure everything was okay." Yang leaned against the armrest of their shared bench and put her legs across Blake's lap. Blake sighed and crossed her arms on Yang's legs.

"Yeah. Everything's great Yang. You two seem happy, Ruby and I are spending more time together, we're all doing fine in classes and stuff. Everything seems great." Blake toyed with the end of one of Yang's shoelaces where her foot was resting on her lap. She didn't focus on it, just played with it idly in her fingers while they talked.

"You sure you're okay with Weiss and me? I know it's a little late to ask but I didn't exactly plan it out." Yang laughed again remembering how she had told Weiss she liked her, by kissing her in the hallway. That was smooth Yang, real smooth.

"Really Yang. It's good. You two seem very happy together, you argue less, Ruby's okay with it, you aren't making out all the time. At least not in front of us." Blake threw Yang a knowing sidelong glance, "I think it's good for you both." Blake's accusing grimace slipped into a comforting smile, "Just don't mess it up. Weiss is fragile."

"She's tougher than you think." Yang laughed again, thinking again of her prickly, icy little girlfriend. If anything she was _too_ tough, closed off, reserved. Those were walls that needed slow and steady work to break down. That was work Yang was more than willing to put in. But for now she still had other things to do. "So, did you hear about Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"Hear _about_ them?" Blake laughed, "You can _hear_ them everywhere." Yang burst out laughing and Blake seemed to realize what she had just said. "I- I mean how sappy they are." Blake stammered, "I haven't heard anything else. Not yet at least." she raised her eyes to look directly at Yang, "I better not ever hear anything from our room either." she pointed an accusatory finger at the big blonde, "I have really good hearing Yang. Disturbingly good. I don't wanna hear anything. Ever." Blake wiggled her finger around in the air but kept it mostly trained on Yang's face. "I'm serious. Ever." Yang threw her hands up in the air defensively.

"You won't, you won't." she tried to play it off. "I mean not from me at least, I can control myself. Weiss on the other hand…" Yang dropped her hands to shoulder height, palm up, and shrugged. Blake slapped at her leg playfully and returned to playing with her partner's shoelace.

"Ruby and I actually ran into Jaune and Pyrrha the other night, when we were out at the bookstore." Blake's voice returned to her usual monotone as she recounted the events. "I'm happy for them, really. I know how long Pyrrha has been pining over him and she deserves to be happy. Plus she'll be a good influence on Jaune. But, it really got to Ruby. Seeing Jaune with someone else and one of our friends. It really messed with her." Blake dropped the shoelace which she had completely untied and sighed loudly. "She seemed to get over it though, maybe she was just really surprised. I don't know. I hope she can be happy for them."

"I think she'll come around." Yang wanted to shake Blake and tell her she knew Ruby would come around but that wasn't the kind of tactic that worked with her. She needed to be subtle and sneaky...like a cat. Yang chuckled to herself and realized she was laughing out loud at her own joke. Blake turned to her, a confused look on her face. "I just hope they stop being so lovey dovey. I mean, seriously."

Yang glanced down at her untied shoelace and switched how her legs were crossed so Blake could play with the other one, she knew how she loved bits of string. They sat in silence for a moment, Blake very obviously resisting the urge to play with Yang's shoelace which Yang was not helping at all by shaking her foot back and forth just a little, making the strings bounce against her shoe.

"Do you know what they're serving for dinner tonight?" Yang asked just after Blake finally relinquished her self-control and toyed with the lace.

"Uhh no." Blake turned to Yang and pulled at the string absent mindedly, without looking, "Ruby said something about pizza though, I think. I hope it's tuna pizza." Blake licked her lips and turned her eyes back to the shoe lace. It was nice to see her let her kitten side out like this, wanting fish, playing with strings. If Yang had a laser pointer she just might die. She really wished she had a laser pointer.

"Really? Ruby said that?" Yang asked, leaning forward slightly, finally ready to pounce.

"Yeah. I think she was talking to Weiss about it between classes." Blake turned to look at Yang who was leaning forward in anticipation, "Why? She likes pizza right? Do you think we should get something else?" The smallest hint of worry edged into Blake's voice and Yang knew it was time.

"You're awfully worried about her. She's a big girl. Even if she didn't like pizza, which she loves, I think she could handle it." Yang watched as Blake's face shifted from worry to confusion.

"Well, I just… You brought it up." Blake shifted in her seat, "She's already worried over Jaune and Pyrrha, I thought it would be nice…" Yang jumped in.

"You mentioned her a lot too. Like. Every question I asked. You knew how Ruby felt about it or you and Ruby did something together or you hoped Ruby was okay. Is she on your mind a lot Blake?" Yang pulled herself closer to her partner, trapping Blake under her knees and between her and the other armrest of the bench.

"No- I told you… We've uhh, we've been spending more time together… Cause, you know, you and Weiss are- well." Blake, usually so precise with language, fumbled about verbally for the proper response. "She's my leader so- Just because you've been gone-"

"Come on Blake. What's going on? What are you thinking about my sister so much for?" Yang could see the battle between Blake's flight and fight responses waging behind her eyes, but she wasn't going to let her run away. She slid one arm around her shoulders, now basically smothering her on the bench. "What's goin' on with you two?"

"Nothing okay!" Blake shouted. Yang had not expected her to pick fight and she immediately backed off, pulling her arms and legs back to herself and swiveling in her seat to sit next to Blake like the perfectly normal person she wasn't. Blake's face immediately fell and she lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "No matter how much I want it. Nothing is going on between us." Blake folded her hands in her lap and toyed with her own fingers.

"Hey, hey I'm sorry." Yang kept her hands to herself, "I didn't mean to make you mad. I just-" It seemed silly now, "I had a feeling you liked her and I wanted to get you to admit it." Yang reached her hand out to touch Blake's but stopped short and pulled it back. "I'm sorry, really."

"I know Yang. It's okay." Blake scooted closer to her, erasing the distance Yang had created when she screamed, "I just… I don't know what to do about it." Blake sighed again and her hands went limp in her lap.

"Well, it's not that hard Blake. You just have to ask her out ya know?" Yang nudged her with her shoulder, drawing Blake's eyes back up to meet hers. "You're not scared are you? Scaredy cat." Yang stuck out her tongue playfully and giggled.

"Of course I'm scared Yang. But, it's not even that. It's so many other things." Blake's voice took on an edge of fear that Yang hadn't heard from her in a long time. "She just got out of her first relationship and she's still freaking out about that. What if I make her upset and it's bad for the team. You know how nervous you are about you and Weiss, imagine how I feel Yang. Ruby isn't even gay! She was dating a guy for Oum's sake." Blake dropped her head into her hands with a frustrated grunt and a repressed scream.

"Oh Blake," Yang slid her arm around her partner's shoulders and cradled her head gently, "No, no no. Don't freak out like this. It's okay." Yang stroked her hand through Blake's long hair, "Don't worry."

"How can you tell me not to worry?" Blake's voice was still angry but muffled now by where she was pressed against Yang's chest. "How am I not supposed to freak out about this Yang? I'm not all sunshine and confidence like you."

"You don't have to be." Yang continued to stroke her hand through Blake's hair, amazed at how soft it was. It had to be all the fish she ate, those oils were good for her hair and skin. "Ruby probably wouldn't like you if you were. But I know she does like you the way you are. She's crazy about you, she just doesn't really know it yet." Blake yanked her head out of Yang's arms.

"What do you mean she's crazy about me? Are you insane?" Blake threw out her hands in exasperation, "How could you even think that?"

"Blake, I'm gonna be frank here," Yang dropped the pretense and leveled a flat gaze at her hysterical partner, "You're being really stupid about this." Blake screwed up her face in confusion and Yang shook her head. "Here watch, I have no idea what you two did the other night. Let's see how _friendly_ it was. What happened first?"

"We went to the bookstore and picked up that book we're reading together." Blake said, still confused.

"Uh huh. Okay, first of all. Ruby reads with you all the time. That alone is a huge sign. But who bought the book?" Yang crossed her arms.

"Ruby did. She said it was to thank me for showing her the series." Blake still seemed dubious.

"Okay, that's probably true. She's really glad that you showed her those books and that it's something you two do together. She wants to do that more so she bought you that book." Yang cocked her head to the side, "What next?"

"Well," doubt had entered Blake's voice now, "Then we went to this little cafe and got food." Blake raised a finger before Yang could ask. "I paid to make up for the book. We ate and talked and stuff up on the roof."

"Are you frikin' kidding me?" Yang laughed out loud and literally slapped her knee, "You two had lunch at a rooftop diner? That's like, straight out of one of your books, or a sappy movie." Yang attempted to get herself under control but that was just too much. How could Blake not see it? This was just getting ridiculous.

"No, it was not." Blake pouted, "She shoved a muffin in my face and got it everywhere and we had to share my food. It was really embarrassing."

"I bet she just shoved it in your mouth to get you to shut up. Were you talking all bad about yourself." Yang pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and faked a swoon, "Oh, I'm such a sad sad Faunus girl. No one can ever love me because I'm so adorably dark and mysterious." Yang burst into a fit of laughter and Blake began to blush.

"What? No! How did you…?" Blake was at a loss for words again.

"Easy Blake. I'm her big sister, and you're not that hard to read." Yang got her laughter under control before she made Blake upset again. "And after your romantic rooftop lunch? What happened?"

"Well… Uhh…" Blake pressed the tips of her index fingers together, "Then we sat together in this little park and read our book for a while. Uhhh…. Out loud, to each other." Blake looked down at the ground, "Okay that part I really liked. We even sat really close and oh my Oum, Yang she asked me to scoot over by her." Blake's face swung a full one-eighty degrees from sad and lost to absolute joy. "Do you really think?" Yang finally let the smug look of victory cross her face.

"I don't think Blake." Yang reached out and patted her shoulder, but Blake laughed.

"Yang, don't use that line on Weiss." Blake crumpled over in laughter and Yang didn't quite understand. As long as Blake was laughing and understood what she needed to do though, then Yang had achieved her goal.

"Better now?" Yang asked once Blake had recovered from her laughter.

"Yeah, I'm better now." Blake wiped a tear of laughter from her eye and leaned in to hug her partner, "Thanks Yang."

"Oh don't thank me yet. I have a girl on the inside. We're gonna make sure this happens for you." Yang squeezed her partner back in an embrace, "I can't wait to have Ruby be with someone I can totally trust."

"You did not send Weiss in there to have a heart to heart with Ruby?" Blake tensed up under Yang's arms.

"Oh yes, yes I did." Yang smiled and held Blake close, not letting her run off to stop Weiss, "It'll go fine Blake trust me. I'm the best at this stuff." Yang sprung to her feet and got ready to walk off. "Now come on, I gotta get ready for my date with Weiss." Yang took two steps and immediately tripped over her loose shoelace, stumbling into a nearby planter but not quite falling over. Oum be damned cat faunus undoing her shoelaces and then distracting her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Yeah Blake, it'll go fine, trust me. So this was the obvious part one of the two part, Ladybugs talking to their partners about all their emotional stuff. Part two will be tomorrow for the weekend double feature.
> 
> What did you think? Good partner time? Good Freezerburn stuff? Anything rough or bad? Let me know, let me know. I love to hear from you. Also, another reminder. This story is coming to a close quite soon. There will only be 50 chapters with the final piece coming out on September 22, so please look forward to that and all the other stuff I'll release after that. I'm gonna take a turn to some fluffier, more fun stuff next.
> 
> Thanks for reading, can't wait to hear from you all!
> 
> -Zach


	44. Partners (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

"Weeeiiiissss." Ruby moaned, "Why do we have to do this?" She let her head thunk down against the textbook in front of her. It was their third hour of studying together this evening and despite Yang's request, Weiss would net let Ruby fall behind as a result of all her emotional troubles.

"Because Ruby. You're our leader, which means you have to keep up with your studies." Weiss lifted Ruby's head off the book, slid another worksheet in front of her and released her head. Ruby immediately let her face fall back forward, hitting the new worksheet with her forehead. "We promised each other remember? That we would be the best partners we could be for each other."

"Buut Weiss there isn't even a test until next month." Ruby lifted her head and groaned. "How do you just study all the time?"

"I do not _just_ study all the time. I have plenty of other activities." Weiss recoiled back in offense and Ruby finally lifted her head.

"Oh yeah? Plenty of other activities?" The young girl waggled her eyebrows in a fashion Weiss was very familiar with, just usually from her older sister. "Liiiiike, making out with my sister?" Ruby giggled and poked at Weiss.

"I will have you know-" Weiss began but stopped as Ruby poked her again, "I don't know how you can even-" Ruby poked her again, "Ruby, I swear to Oum if you don't-" Ruby poked her again. "Ahhh Fine. Yes." Weiss crossed her arms. "Yes, we do that. Sometimes. Maybe more than we should. But we both find it...quite… enjoyable." Weiss's face went a deep red and she turned away from her partner.

"Oh Weiss eww." Ruby swatted at her with both hands, "I didn't need to know that eww eww eww." Ruby continued swatting at her until Weiss caught one of her wrists.

"Well then you shouldn't have pestered me about it." Weiss dropped her hand, "And besides. We don't ever do anything in front of you right? So it should be fine."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Ruby sat up a little straighter. "Thank you for that by the way. I know you are really trying to make me feel comfortable about it all." Ruby glanced off to the side nervously, "It's nice of you."

"And don't you forget it." Weiss recovered her composure now that she had Ruby in a slightly more docile and manageable state. "Now, if we could get back to studying we could just-"

"No Weiss." Ruby lunged out and covered the book with her body, "Please anything but that."

"Would you stop?" Weiss pulled back from the book in shock, physically retreating from Ruby's foolishness, "We are in a library." she chided.

"Please, please, anything but more studying." Ruby scooped up the texts and closed them, crumpling the worksheets and notes inside without a second thought. She made rapid work, piling all their supplies in one corner of the small table before Weiss could stop her. "See, look everything's all packed up, we might as well leave."

"Are you… Are you being serious?" Weiss sat there in complete shock, arms hanging uselessly at her sides. Ruby's ability to completely ignore rational thought and operate as she pleased was remarkable, like something brought to Remnant for the sole purpose of infuriating Weiss. "Well, if not study. Then what would you rather do?"

"Literally anything Weiss." Ruby said as if it were the simplest thing imaginable, "We could walk Zwei, or get dinner, or play a game, or watch a movie, oh my Oum anything but study more."

"No I mean precisely what would you rather be doing Ruby." Weiss levelled a serious look at the younger girl. She had wanted to get in a little more responsible studying and school work before they had this conversation but it appeared that Ruby would be having none of that so they might as well do it now. She did have to get it done after all, that or see a disappointed look in Yang's eyes. That would be unacceptable. "If I had not brought you here to study this afternoon, how would you be spending your time?"

"Oh..? Well…" Ruby sat in thought for a moment, swinging her legs idly beneath her, pursing her lips and tapping her finger on her chin. "I guess I would be back in the dorm reading that new book with Blake. It's really good. We're only a few chapters in right now but it's so awesome and-"

"Wait. Wait wait wait." Weiss waved her hands about to stop Ruby from rambling on any further. "You're sitting here complaining about studying and you would rather just be reading a different book?" Weiss realized she had absolutely zero concept of how Ruby's brain functioned, how it jumped from decision to decision.

"Well yeah, duh." Ruby didn't seem to understand Weiss's train of thought either, "That's a fun book Weiss. It's full of danger and mystery and adventure and a little bit of romance." She snickered at the end.

"So you want to just go sit with Blake and read?" Weiss re-crossed her arms. It may be tougher to get Ruby to admit this than she thought. Trying to guide her thoughts in one specific direction was like trying to herd a pack of creepers into a trap.

"Yep, yep, yep." Ruby smiled ear to ear. She was so obvious, really, but unless she could get her to say it out loud then this wouldn't work. Yang was probably done already. Blake's mind followed some semblance of rational thought whereas Ruby's was a muddled mess of cookies and fluffy animals. "We like to sit together and read the different characters out loud for each other. Like I read this one who's a young boy that had to strike out on his own because his village was destroyed and now he's adventuring across his kingdom looking for-"

"I don't need to know the whole book Ruby." Weiss cut her short. "But, I'm your partner right? You never asked me to sit and read with you. Even before Yang and I were a couple." Weiss shuddered to remember all of the things that Ruby had asked her to accompany her on. Many of them against the rules, most of them dangerous but all in all mostly enjoyable. Except for that incident with the food fight. That was absolutely enjoyable. "Why Blake?"

"Huh?" Ruby's face dropped, "Oh Weiss I'm sorry. I totally thought that you and Yang would want to have more time together and I've been trying to stay away from you guys. No no no, I still totally wanna hang out with you. I didn't want you to think I didn't." Ruby began to lean forward towards Weiss, hands outstretched.

"No, that's fine." Weiss scooted her chair back just a bit, making it look like she was just correcting her posture, which she knew she had a compulsive habit of doing. "That's not what I meant. I uhh-" Realization struck Weiss, "Wait, you've been trying to give us alone time?"

"Well yeah, you're my partner and she's my sister and I want you two to be happy." Ruby leaned back in her chair and Weiss breathed a sigh of relief. "I mean, I know that you two don't wanna do uhh _stuff_ in front of me, and probably not in front of Blake either so we've been trying to get out of your way."

"You didn't have to do that Ruby." Weiss sincerely thought those had been plans of Yang's to get her alone. While she liked the idea of spending more intimate time with her girlfriend she had thought it awfully forward of her. But, to find out that it was a concentrated effort on their partners' part to give them time. Well, now it seemed like a wonderful, romantic coincidence that they had such wonderful partners. Weiss reminded herself to keep an eye out for another such opportunity. "Really, Yang and I are much more than a physical couple I assure you."

"Oh okay…"

"But uhh… I know that she does find it uncomfortable to be.. Well.. affectionate around you and I would rather not be overt with such displays so if you don't mind… well… continuing that. I would not be opposed." Weiss stuttered out, trying desperately to not give her the wrong impression. But, also, not wanting to lose her alone time with that big, beautiful, wonderfully toned, muscular… She had to focus on Ruby right now. Weiss took a deep steadying breath to clear her thoughts as Ruby responded.

"No problem." Ruby did a terrible mock salute, one that would have made Winter literally groan. "Maybe we should come up with like a code word that you can use when you want to have the room. Or like, a sneaky way to send a message that when I see it, I'll know and I can just take Blake and leave or something."

"I'm not sure something like that would work." While it did sound like a decent plan, Weiss could not imagine Ruby being any good at any kind of covert operation. She could just see it now. Weiss would drop the code word oh so subtly into a line of conversation, ensuring that it did not stand out in any way. Ruby, would completely miss it and barrel right on through. Weiss would use the code word again, with slightly more force and while maintaining eye contact with Ruby to make sure she understood. Ruby would, of course, continue to miss the point. Finally when Weiss broke down and just screamed the code word at Ruby, she would yelp, make up an absolutely terrible excuse and run out of the room. Then Weiss would have to endure a tirade of teasing from Yang and probably not get to any of what she had wanted in the first place. "I think Yang would catch on, don't you?"

"Oh yeah, you're probably right." Ruby's head fell back into serious thought.

"Don't worry Ruby. Like I said, we can figure it out." How was Weiss letting herself get so distracted. She had a purpose for being here, a goal. "So you and Blake have been spending more time together lately then?"

"Oh yeah, lots and lots." Ruby's eyes lit up and her head jerked to attention. "Like, we hang out a lot between classes and whenever I want to read she's always up for it. I even caught up like three whole books in time to read the new one with her which is awesome because reading it together is soo much better than reading it alone. I don't know what it is , but like, when she reads I feel like I understand everything in the book way more and I can totally get into it. Sometimes when I read without her i get distracted and I feel like I'm reading but then when I'm done I don't really remember much of what happened in the book." Weiss cut in before she could get too far off track again.

"What you two do the other night?" She cleared her throat, "When you were, erm, well, giving Yang and I time alone." Ruby giggled and jumped right back in.

"First we went to the store and I bought Blake the book because I know how much she likes having them and I don't really care about having one I just wanna read it so it was no big deal. Plus it looked like it made her really, really happy so that's good too right? Well anyways, I bought her the book and then we went out for lunch together which was really nice because she took me to this little cafe that let us eat up on the roof. It was really good, even if I did ruin my muffin, but it was okay because Blake let me share with her. I felt kind bad about that because she bought it all for me anyways and then I took some of hers but, well you know how Blake gets. She was doing that thing where she gets really down on herself and starts to talk bad and like she doesn't believe in herself and I don't like to see her like that so I shoved it in her mouth. She laughed and I laughed and then we went for a walk in this park and it was nice because it was kind of dark and we sat and read together and were really close to each other and you probably didn't want to know this much did you?" Ruby came to a grinding halt amid her tumult of words.

Even Weiss had to admit, that had been an adorable display of someone completely and absolutely crushing on someone but not admitting it flat out. Seeing Ruby go through all of that was enough to reinvigorate her and remind her why she agreed to this in the first place. She wasn't her to curry favor with Yang, she was here to help her partner and her friend find the same kind of happiness that she had found with Yang.

"I did ask though didn't I?" Weiss had to suppress a giggle of joy. It looked as if she may have finally wrangled Ruby's brain into being focused on the one thing she had been aiming for. "It sounds like you two had a very intimate evening."

"Yeah, I mean. It was really nice. We got to spend a lot of time together and oh no what do you mean intimate?" Horror painted itself across her face in bright strokes, red blossoms appearing at both her cheeks and spreading rapidly. "It- It wasn't- uhh… intimate. No, it was just nice. Yeah. It was a nice friendly night out."

"That didn't exactly sound friendly to me Ruby. That sounded like a bit more than that." Weiss relaxed her arms and tried to sit a little less straight, to appear slightly more inviting.

"Why would it be anything more than that? Why would anything else have happened? It's not like that right?" Ruby's blush continued to spread and her words came faster than before. "I mean. I don't like girls do I? And does Blake? I don't think she does. I know she talks about how she doesn't like any of the boys around here but that's just because she doesn't like anyone right now right not because she likes girls. Wait." Ruby stopped in her rambling and locked eyes with Weiss. "Do you think Blake likes girls?"

"Well I think it's a definite possibility." Weiss started to explain her feelings on the matter but thought it might be better, and far more amusing, to just watch Ruby implode into a little ball of confusion and hormones. First loves were so cute.

"And and and why do you think that? Can you like tell because you like girls too? I didn't even know you liked girls until you and Yang started going out. I guess it's hard for me because Yang likes both and so I don't know what it is that you might not like about boys because to her it doesn't really matter and before now I hadn't really met anyone else who was like that. So is there like, a way to tell? Or do you just have to guess?"

"There isn't some secret to it Ruby. We don't have a handshake or passwords or anything like Headmaster Ozpin and your uncle." Weiss shook her head, so many people had such weird ideas about how this worked. "It's the same as being able to tell if someone likes a boy or if the like a girl. It doesn't really matter, you just look for the signs. Like when they watch them in class, or spend all day dreaming about them, or spend a lot of time with them for no reason, or go on things that are totally dates but they swear they aren't." Ruby's eye grew wide as Weiss continued.

"What are you saying Weiss. How did you…?" Ruby recoiled her hands into herself and Weiss felt a little bit of panic. She had honestly expected her to confess by now but this reluctance she was showing was worrying. She knew that if Ruby was backed into a corner she didn't do well. She got very scattered and flustered and became defensive to the point of silence.

"Nothing, I'm just saying that maybe there's a chance that Blake likes you and you just hadn't realized." Weiss started back in slowly. "Perhaps you're night out together meant more to her than it did to you." Weiss knew full well that Ruby had enjoyed Blake's company and what they had done. But, she also knew that Ruby was probably scared that Blake might not reciprocate her feelings so perhaps if she could convince her that she did then Ruby might feel better about exposing her own feelings.

"Do you really think so?" Ruby's voice rose an octave or two, which was impressive, in excitement. "I don't know. I mean, we're just like really good friends right? Yeah I don't think there's anything else-" Weiss couldn't take it anymore. She had tried to be patient, but if she could spell it for Ruby in no uncertain terms and have her try to refute it like this. Well, that was that.

"Ruby, I know what I'm talking about. I've been watching you two for a while now. It is very obvious that you are both interested and just neither of you is willing to admit it." Weiss needed to get through all of it and make her intentions clear before Ruby had a chance to clam up. "As your partner and Blake's friend I can't stand to see you two ignore this. If you don't address it then something terrible might happen, someone's feelings might get hurt, you two might wind up with the wrong people. I have to try and make sure you at least give it a chance."

Ruby sat in silence and just stared at Weiss. Perhaps Weiss had done something terribly wrong, maybe the forward, aggressive approach wouldn't work after all. She sat in horrified silence as she waited for Ruby to react. Weiss was now too afraid to do anything else and risk messing things up more than she had already. This situation was obviously already going to require extensive repair work by Yang and quite possibly may have ruined any chance of Ruby and Blake being together.

"Is it really that obvious?" Ruby finally said in a hushed voice. It took Weiss a moment to garner the meaning of her words before she could respond.

"Definitely. If you can't tell that Blake likes you then you're even more oblvious than Jaune was to Pyrrha." Weiss realized her misstep as soon as she said it. "Sorry I didn't mean to."

"It's okay," Ruby smiled, "I mean I don't think I'm worse than him though. He was so bad that he dated another girl when she was so in love with him." Ruby started to laugh.

"But Ruby," Weiss took a slow breath, "You dated Jaune when Blake felt that way about you." Ruby's eye flew open in shock, much wider than before.

"Has she liked me for that long?" Ruby asked, losing all the trepidation from before.

"I don't think," Weiss had to measure her words carefully, "I don't think she was completely aware of the fact that her feelings were romantic. Perhaps she was convinced that she only liked you as a very close friend. But yes, she has cared about you for that long and it now is definitely a romantic interest."

"Why didn't you tell me Weiss?"Ruby swung at her and hit Weiss on the shoulder. "Oh no, I must have made her feel so bad when I came back and talked about my dates and stuff." She hit Weiss again, "Why didn't you tell me? I'm so bad at this." Weiss lifted her hand to retaliate and Ruby finally stopped hitting her on the arm.

"I was more than a little pre-occupied with my own emotions at the time. Plus, you did start seeing Jaune so I figured that telling you would only cause you heartache. Remember how worried you were about Pyrrha's emotions? Just imagine if I had dumped Blake's concerns on top of those." Weiss lowered her guard once she was sure that Ruby had settled down enough to be trusted again.

"But… But I…" Ruby seemed at a loss for words so Weiss was more than happy to fill them in for her.

"You, Ruby Rose, are going to go in that dorm room and tell Blake Belladonna, in no uncertain terms, exactly how you feel." Weiss crossed her arms again. The worst was past, now it was just giving Ruby instructions, that she could handle. "You are going to tell her and she will tell you and Yang and I will be no where near any of it because she has promised me a romantic walk through one of Beacon's gardens. You know, like the one you and Blake went on without even knowing it."

"No Weiss, I can't." Ruby's face went bright red again and she pulled her hood over her head.

"Well, you have two options Ruby." Weiss knew she had her, "You can either go in there and tell Blake how you feel and start an incredibly happy and healthy relationship with her or you can sit here and study with me for the rest of the evening. Yang and I can take our walk another night." Weiss knew which option she would pick but turned and began pulling down the books just in case, to give her that extra motivation.

"You really wouldn't mind missing your walk?" Ruby mumbled out from beneath her cloak. Wait, had she heard her right? She was choosing studying? No, that was unacceptable. Weiss turned on her.

"Go." She said, "Go right now," she picked up a paperback workbook, "You go right now Ruby Rose. Go to your room and tell Blake you like her." She rolled up the workbook and swatted at Ruby's shoulder. "You go right now, stop sitting here, go." Weiss continued to swat Ruby with it.

"Ow, ow fine." Ruby jumped up with a small giggle, "I was kidding, ow, I was kidding, stop." Ruby took a few steps away. "I'd rather fight a Death Stalker than keep studying." Ruby stuck out her tongue and ran off as Weiss got up to chase her down with the workbook.

Good, now she was on her way and Weiss had done her job and everything was going to go wonderfully. She pulled out her scroll and sent a quick message to Yang that Ruby was on her way back to the dorm. With that out of the way, she just had to pack up her things, correct the mess that Ruby had made, and she could enjoy an evening with her wonderful girlfriend. One who, she had to admit was proving much more caring and considerate than she had even hoped she would be. There was a flash of rose petals and Weiss turned in her seat. Why was she back?

"Thank you Weiss." Ruby darted forward and hugged Weiss before she could react, "Thank thank you. Thank you so much." Ruby pulled out of the hug but left her hands on Weiss's shoulders. "You're the best partner ever." There was another blur and Weiss was assaulted with even more rose petals as Ruby darted away.

"Well, at least she's excited."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Okay, I'm a terrible person. I missed a publication date. I've never missed one before. You see, i got really busy yesterday and while these chapters are already finished, they do still require editing. I procrastinated and procrastinated and then there was more editing work to do than I thought because some small changes earlier in the story required more significant changes at this point. Anyways, I am extremely sorry to have left you all hanging. I really have prided myself on never having missed a publication date before and it's messing with me that I finally have. I hope you all understand. Tomorrow's chapter will come out as normal, no delays, I promise.
> 
> Alright, now that that's out of the way, what did you think? I really like Weiss. Like a lot a lot. So, writing chapters from her perspective is fun for me, especially ones where she and Ruby interact because in my opinion they are even further polar opposites than Weiss and Yang.
> 
> Both of our Ladybug girls have discusses with their partners and Blake even has that promise with Pyrrha keeping her going. So, without further delay, the next chapter (oh my Oum chapter 45) will be titled, Ladybug.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, can't wait to hear what you think.
> 
> -Zach


	45. Ladybug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The door shut behind Yang and she left Blake alone in the dorm with the knowledge that Ruby was on her way. A sudden, terrible sense of apprehension gripped at Blake. Yang and Weiss were headed out for the night, or at least for most of the evening, on a date together. That was great for them, Yang was making an effort to romance Weiss and Weiss was allowing herself to be romanced. Awesome. But, that meant Blake and Ruby would be alone in the dorm for the evening. Blake didn't know if she could handle that much more alone time with Ruby. It was already tortuous enough the way they'd spent the weekend. But, now they had to be like this on weeknights too?

Blake wanted to be around Ruby. She wanted to spend time with her and cuddle her and read together and do all of the things they did. But, at the same time, she wanted to do them as a couple and doing them platonically was beginning to wear on her. She wasn't impatient with her, how could she be? No matter what Yang had said, Blake still wasn't completely convinced that Ruby was interested in women and if that wasn't the case then Blake just had to face the fact that it wouldn't happen for them. But, the other possibility, the chance that Yang was right about her little sister and that she did like girls, that she might be interested in Blake. That possibility was even more dangerous for Blake to consider. Absolute refusal she could deal with, but that lingering hope… That's what was driving her insane.

* * *

Ruby came to a halt outside the doors to the dorm building. Weiss had gotten her so excited that she ran as fast as she could, rose petals and everything, all the way to the dorms. Several times she had nearly smacked into people but narrowly avoided them. She was glad she hadn't bowled anyone over because that would have definitely put a damper on her spirits.

The issue was, now that she was here, Ruby was nothing but a ball of nerves. In the library it had all seemed so simple. She liked Blake and everything in the world indicated that Blake liked her back. But, now that she was face to face with the actual act of confessing her feelings to the gorgeous raven haired girl. She didn't think she could do it. How could she just put herself out there like that? What if she was wrong? What if Blake was just an amazing friend?

The door to the building swung open and Yang emerged, carrying Zwei in her arms, right in front of Ruby.

"Hey sis," Yang caught the door before it could hit Ruby, "Watch out, you shouldn't just stand there." Yang waved her hand in front of Ruby's face but the little brunette didn't react. "Rubes. Hey Ruby." Yang stepped directly in front of Ruby and leaned down so they were eye to eye. "Hey, yo, Remnant to Rubles." Ruby finally opened her eyes wide with a start, broken from her trance.

"Oh hey Yang." Ruby shook her head to gather herself, "Uhh, you're not headed up to the dorm are you?"

"No Ruby," Yang started slowly, "I'm actually just headed out to meet up with Weiss. We're gonna take Zwei for a walk." She hefted the dog in her arms up to indicate who she meant by Zwei and the little dog let out a joyful bark. Yang turned her head and looked up at their dorm room window then back at her sister, "Blake's all alone up there right now. Wasn't there something you were gonna go do? Ya know… up there, with her."

"Whuh? No. Uhh Why would you think that?" Ruby was suddenly very aware of the fact that Yang seemed to be very aware of her plans.

"Well, I'm your big sister, I'm dating Weiss so she told me, and, well, you're about as subtle as a Goliath sis'." Yang laughed and clapped her hand against Ruby's shoulder. The contact did a lot to calm Ruby down, help her center herself. "I can tell you for sure Ruby. You've got this. Don't worry at all." She snuck behind Ruby and pushed her towards the door gently with her free arm. "Go get her girl."

Ruby stumbled forward and stopped right at the door, but she only hesitated long enough to open it and sneak inside. She poked her head back through and yelled after Yang.

"Thanks Yang." She waved empathically and Yang shot her an enthusiastic thumbs up before trotting off towards the library to catch up with Weiss, Zwei following close behind on his bright red leash.

* * *

"Calm down Blake, calm down." Blake paced back and forth between the two sets of bunks. She was so nervous waiting for Ruby that she hadn't even been able to sit still. She was really glad that she was getting to wait in their dorm at the very least. That meant that no one got to see her pace. She had tried to be calm, deep steady breathing, fidgeting with her hands, staring out the window. It hadn't helped when she had seen Ruby walking up to the front doors, that hadn't helped at all. Now, she knew it was coming, the impending moment where she and Ruby would finally be forced to confront whatever it was that was going on between them. At this point, she was really considering jumping out the window, climbing down the tree and just hiding somewhere they would never ever find her.

There was a small click as the door opened and Blake, as lost in thought as she had been, nearly leapt out of her skin and actually did leap up and onto Ruby's bed. She landed with all the skill and grace her heritage and training granted her, falling into a heap and making the bed swing about wildly.

"Blake? Are you in here?" Ruby eased slowly into the room. She peeked just her head around the corner and looked around, eyes finally landing on the bunk swaying side to side.

This was perfect, Blake could just hide here. Surely Ruby hadn't seen her yet. If she just stayed as still and quiet as possible, she would be okay. If the dust damned bed would stop swinging, then she could just lay here and Ruby would go away and by the time she came back the others would be back and they wouldn't have to face all this awkwardness.

* * *

"Blake, can you come down here please? Yang took Zwei. You don't have to hide." Ruby called up, looking directly at Blake and the bunk. She knew she was here, Ruby had spotted her and now she looked even more foolish than if she had caught her pacing. At least pacing was something people did.

Blake slowly pushed herself up and out of the blankets, emerging into the fading natural light provided by their giant window that looked out over Beacon. She slid down off of Ruby's bed, why was Blake in her bed again, and landed lightly on her bare feet on the floor. Blake had her hands folded in front of her and seemed very interested in the ground. Ruby was tempted to say she looked shy, but this was Blake, why should Blake be shy around her? It was just the two of them after all.

Ruby forced herself to release her cloak. She hadn't even realized she was kneading it between her fingers until she had been struck with the urge to do so. When she found that she was already crumpling it between her fingers she realized just how nervous she still was. Maybe Blake's nervous for the same was a good sign then right? If Blake was just as nervous as her then she probably liked Ruby a lot too. So why was this so hard to do? She just had to open up and be honest about her feelings with Blake.

Blake lifted her head and met Ruby's eyes, reminding her that she had asked Blake to come down and stop hiding in her bed just to leave her standing there in the middle of the room without saying anything.

"Ruby I-" Blake started but Ruby lifted her hand to cut her off.

"No Blake, I have something I need to say and it's really, really hard and if I don't just say it right now I don't think I will ever say it so I have to just do it." Ruby took a quick breath and held it, trying to steady herself. Okay, now or never. She looked at Blake and felt herself melt a little inside. So, instead of looking at those shimmering golden orbs that just seemed to beg her to be nice. She closed her eyes, released the breath and jumped in. "Blake I think I really, really like you and I don't know what to do but I just had to tell you so uhh… yeah." Once it was out there Ruby didn't really know what to do. She kept her eyes closed and waited, waited for whatever was to come.

Silence.

* * *

Blake looked at Ruby, standing there with her eyes shut and her fists clenched, looking like she was bracing to be hit by a train. She liked her? Or at least… She thought she liked her. Blake couldn't believe it. Ruby Rose, the most adorable little Grimm slaying huntress ever was right in front of her and actually liked Blake. She had hoped against hope so many times since she realized how she felt.

"Ruby," Blake started softly and was glad to see her eyes drift open ever so slightly. "Ruby, I really like you. I have for a little while now. But. I wasn't sure. I didn't know how you felt. You were dating Jaune so I thought you wouldn't like me the way I like you. Then, we would read and stuff. It was really hard for me. I tried to just be your friend but…" Blake let her sentence fall short. How was it, that even with Ruby right there telling her she liked her that Blake could still find a way to get so down on herself?

"Uhh Blake. You don't have to be like that anymore." Ruby took a small, cautious step forward, "I-" she cleared her throat, "I'm really sure that I like you. I love spending time with you, I think about you all the time. I can't help it, I just do. When I see something funny or have something happen to me I always think, 'Oh wait until I get to tell Blake about this.' When I'm in our afternoon classes I just wanna be done so we can train together or read or even just talk like we did the other night." Blake felt a lump in her throat as Ruby described all the ways she knew she liked Blake. It was so sweet and so perfectly encapsulated the reasons she liked Ruby.

"I've known you were special for a long time Ruby. When we started at Beacon and I got to know you, I knew we would at least be really good friends. You're so spontaneous and fun but loving and caring and selfless. I, well, I have a lot of trouble having confidence in myself to do things Ruby. Sometimes, I think back to all the things that have happened, my time with the White Fang, being a Faunus all my life and having to deal with how people treat me because of it. But, you are just, you're always there for me, always thinking of me."

"But that's just because-" Now it was Blake's turn to cut Ruby off.

"It's just because you're an amazing person Ruby." Blake took a small step forward now, slowly closing the gap between them. "You're so incredible because you're like this constant ray of light and happiness that never dims or fades. You're just always there and seeing you and how happy you always are, it always makes me happier too. That's why, I realized how I felt after what happened with you and Jaune." Blake took another, slightly larger and more confident, step forward. "It was when I saw how sad you were, that something had managed to make that light falter. I realized that I wanted to be the reason you could shine brighter. I wanted to be able to make you happy like you had been before."

"It really meant that much to you?" Ruby lifted her hands and clutched them together just beneath her chin. "I didn't realize-" Ruby felt a catch in her throat as the emotions of what Blake was saying threatened to overtake her. No, she would not cry in front of her again. This was happy, this was good, this was the best thing Ruby could have hoped for. "I didn't know I meant that much to you."

"You mean more than that to me Ruby." Blake stopped her advance, she needed Ruby to come to her too. She couldn't be the only one making any sort of moves. Ruby had said herself, she thought she liked Blake. If Blake just overwhelmed her with all of these feelings that she had been holding onto for so long, it would be bad. She didn't want to pressure Ruby into anything with how strongly she felt.

"I guess. I just never really saw it because I didn't let myself even consider that I might be interested in you. I had never even...well before Jaune I had never liked anyone that way before. I had a few like crushes and stuff. I thought people were cute or funny at Signal. But… Jaune was the first time I felt my chest get tight around someone, the first time it made me nervous to talk to them and feel like I wanted to hold their hand or kiss them or anything like that." Ruby turned off to the side slightly. "Then when we broke up, I didn't think I had known what I was feeling. It was so weird, how different everything was once we started going out. Like, he acted really, really different around me and I think that's why it didn't work. I don't know."

Ruby turned back to face Blake and she could see small pools of unshed tears in her silver eyes. Was she sad? Was she going to say that she couldn't be with Blake or even give it a try because she was still caught up over what had happened? It had been long enough now Blake thought that wouldn't be an issue. Of all the things that she was concerned about being an issue, that hadn't really been one of them. Now that it was rearing its ugly head though, Blake couldn't understand why she had missed it. Why had she brought him up at all? Why had she put those thoughts in Ruby's head?

"So I was worried that I didn't know how to tell when I really liked someone and if I was right about it. Then, then the other night, when we went out to the bookstore and stuff. I felt that way with you Blake. I felt like I liked you and it scared me so much. It scared me because I still didn't know." Ruby wiped at her eyes and moved closer to Blake, they were now within arm's reach. Blake could practically feel Ruby they were so close. "But, I do know that I can trust you Blake. I know that we can figure things out, or at least try to and that even if we don't that we'll be okay."

"Of course you can trust me Ruby." Blake wanted to hug her but she still wasn't sure, "We just, we would need to be totally honest and open with each other."

"Yeah, I think we would need that." Ruby met Blake's eye, "I think everybody needs that."

"So, we just have to talk about things. No secrets, ask questions." Blake started to feel hope, it looked like this would actually happen for them. "If one of us ever wants something we just have to ask."

"Okay, well, I have a thing then." Ruby glanced at the floor off to the side and rubbed the toe of her boot against the ground. "I don't know if it's a question. That doesn't sound right. Like a uhh…"

"What is it Ruby?" Blake leaned her head to one side. "You can just say it." She smiled at her gently, hoping Ruby could start this off by trusting her enough to just say whatever was on her mind.

"It's not that easy. It's kinda weird." Ruby swung her hands behind her and locked her fingers together. Oh gosh, it had seemed so easy before, but this was so much different than that time. "I uhh, I really want to kiss you Blake." For once Ruby was able to keep her voice slow and controlled, not releasing the nervous phrase so fast the other person barely understood. She knew that if Blake didn't hear, she would never muster the courage to say it again so she kept it slow and even.

"That's not really… I'm not-" Blake stammered and Ruby knew she had messed it all up. She and Jaune had been together for a while before they had ever kissed. Jaune had even asked to hold her hand the first time. Of course asking to kiss Blake when they weren't even really dating yet was way too fast. How could Ruby have possibly thought that it was an okay thing. "It's just that… I want to be sure Ruby. I want to be sure that you're certain about this. I know it's weird and it's new and I don't want you to feel like you have to or anything." Blake folded her hands behind her back now, she wanted to be as unimposing as possible, to make herself look completely innocent to Ruby and not threatening at all.

"I'm sure Blake." Ruby nodded and kept her hands behind her, "I wasn't when I came in here. I was confused and really scared and nervous about this whole thing but...now that we talked… I think it's because I finally said it out loud." Ruby took a quick breath and nodded her head. "I'm really sure Blake. I want to be your girlfriend… Uhh if that's okay?"

"Yes Ruby," Blake clenched her hands tight. She absolutely could not believe that this was happening this way. "I would be more than happy to be your girlfriend." Just as the words finished leaving Blake's mouth, Ruby was darting forward and wrapping her arms tightly around Blake, hugging her as close as she could. After taking just a split second to collect herself and ensure she didn't collapse to her knees Blake returned the hug. For a second they held each other and then Ruby pulled away, leaving her arms around Blake's waist but staring up into her eyes.

"So uhh… I know that we really did just start dating like one hug ago. But I already asked and you never answered and it's just. If we just go with you never having answered then I'm gonna feel really self-conscious about having asked even once we do do it. It's just… I'm not saying you have to say yes, I'm only-" Ruby had to stop. How was she supposed to keep talking with those incredibly soft lips pressed against hers.

Blake was listening to Ruby babble and go on about her insecurities until she realized that she had basically been given express permission, not just permission but an invitation, to kiss Ruby. That was an opportunity that she was absolutely not letting anything get in the way of. So, without even letting the younger girl finish her rant, because who knew how long that might take, Blake leaned down, pulled her close and kissed her.

She kept it short. It was their first kiss. She didn't want to turn it into some kind of long drawn out thing, nor did she have any desire to deepen it or make it more than just a kiss. What she did want to accomplish was to show Ruby just how much she cared for her and how much she cared about this relationship they were embarking on together. So, Blake tried to push all that tenderness and affection into the action. She held Ruby close but not tight, pressed her lips to Ruby's firmly but not forcefully, trying to balance everything as well as she could. Then, she pulled away first.

"Oh." Ruby blinked her eyes back open, "Oh wow." She glanced around as if trying to get her bearings and then found her place back in Blake's eyes. "Uhhh well…Now I'm definitely sure I'm okay with this." Ruby wiggled her hands around Blake's back until she could bring her fingers together and pull Blake closer to her, pressing their waists together. Then she leaned her head in and rested it on Blake's shoulder. "Do you wanna keep reading? I think we have a while until Yang and Weiss get back."

"Ruby, I would love nothing more than to sit and read with you." Blake placed a soft kiss on the crown of Ruby's head, relishing in the soft feel of her hair against her lips. She held it there for just a moment, and Ruby hummed happily in her arms. This was absolutely the best feeling Blake had ever experienced and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted it to stop so they could read. Then again, reading meant they got to cuddle together on her bed, or maybe even on up on Ruby's where that curtain she had made could separate them from the rest of the world. Plus, it would make Ruby happy, not that she seemed unhappy now, but still, she had asked. "Come on, let's go."

Blake broke the kiss and stepped away towards the shelf where their book was waiting for them, the page from where they had stopped last marked by a small strip of red cloth that Blake had chosen because it reminded her of Ruby's cloak.

"I know we usually lay in your bed. But, well, I saw you in mine when I got here and I thought it might be nice. Plus, when they bring Zwei back he'll want to jump on me and I don't want him to get on your bed but he can't reach mine so we'll be safe and…"

"Ruby." Blake stopped her, "Of course we can. It makes no difference to me so if you want to then just ask." Blake lifted the book happily from the shelf and moved towards the hanging bunk. She just hoped that the joy of seeing them together would overwhelm Weiss's anger at having two people on the dangerously suspended bunk right above her head.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Alright, there it is. Finally. Forty Five chapters, 200k words, nearly 100 followers and 20k views later we finally get Ladybug. Thanks so much for coming on this ride with me. Only five chapters left for this story, but I am seriously considering a "Friends and Loved Ones 2" at some point. Though I will probably come up with a better title than that and it will probably be after Volume 4.
> 
> What did you think of this chapter? Of how they are starting off their relationship. I'd love to hear what you think. This chapter specifically is obviously kind of an important one and I would like to know how you think I handled it. So please, if you don't review anywhere else on this story, please review here.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! You're all wonderful people.
> 
> -Zach


	46. About Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Zwei tugged on the leash a little, pulling to get back to their dorm room but Yang kept a firm grip and didn't let the little guy get away. She knew that he was anxious to get back because they were walking so much slower than usual. It was dark out, it was late, and Zwei was probably tired, but Yang had two very important reasons to stay out of her room a little longer. One was that Ruby and Blake were back in the dorm and they were having their heart to heart, figuring themselves out, doing what they needed to do. The other was that Yang had a very content Heiress clinging to her arm right now, using Yang's natural body heat to ward off the early evening cold. If she was perfectly honest with herself, there was nowhere else on Remnant Yang would rather be right now.

"Thank you Yang. I had a really nice time tonight." Weiss hugged closer to Yang's arm, both of her small slender ones wrapped around Yang's firm, muscular one. She wanted to slide her arm around Weiss's shoulders, but she just seemed so happy to cling to her and rest her head on Yang's shoulder the way she was.

"Yeah, I had a really nice time too." Yang leaned her head down just enough to rest it against the top of Weiss's for a moment before straightening back up. "It was really great to just walk and talk and watch the stars."

"I'll admit," Weiss sounded a little sleepy, she had her eyes closed and was trusting in Yang to guide her back to the dorms safely, "I didn't think you had a side like this. It's very pleasant to know it exists." Weiss turned her neck just slightly, rubbing her temple affectionately against Yang's shoulder.

"Well yeah." Yang laughed, "Even I have to slow down sometimes right?" Zwei barked and pulled at the leash a little harder but Yang flexed her wrist just slightly and he came to heel. He was a good dog, really. He just got separation anxiety when he was away from Ruby or Yang for too long and not in his home. He had gotten better about being in the dorm room since he had been at Beacon and was probably starting to think of it as his new home. Yang wondered what it would be like once her dad took him back home to Patch.

Together the couple made their way back to the dorms slowly but surely. Zwei eventually got the idea that they were taking things slow and took advantage of it to stroll and sniff around the couple in a small circle, meandering from side to side along the path as they walked. Yang was able to mostly ignore him and enjoy the walk with Weiss as much as possible. Part of her was worried about Ruby and Blake back in the dorm, but she knew that worrying would get her nowhere. She was also confident that Blake's feelings were true and that she and Ruby would figure everything out.

They came to the big doors at the base of the dorm and Weiss stopped. She pulled away from Yang and straightened her clothing, trying to make herself presentable for their friends inside. Yang picked up Zwei so she could carry him up the stairs and to their room. She liked to carry him in the building because he barked a lot and ran around if she didn't. It was late and she wanted to avoid disturbing everyone else with this dog that they really weren't supposed to have. Weiss finished with her fussing and leaned forward to give Zwei a scratch between his ears.

"This was refreshing Yang, thank you." Weiss leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss to Yang's cheek. Yang smiled like a fool. Oh, how those little kisses got to her. Somehow, they seemed more affectionate than full on kisses or even more so than making out. Just that little show of appreciation from Weiss was amazing. It made Yang know she had done something right.

Without waiting for a response Weiss slid through the doorway and started into the building. Yang shook herself back to reality and followed quickly behind, trying to catch Weiss without chasing after her. She caught up to her petite girlfriend and grabbed her around the waist with her free arm. Weiss let out a small, startled yelp but didn't pull away from her at all.

"Now you don't think you can get away with just that do you?" Yang leaned down placed a kiss on Weiss's temple, then her cheek, then her neck. Weiss let out a little moan of pleasure as Yang lingered on her neck. Then, in perfect mood breaking fashion, Zwei stretched over and licked Weiss's face.

"Oh, aghck, eww." Weiss stumbled away from Yang wiping at her face with both hands. "Okay Yang, I love him and all but we need to put Zwei in the room if we want to do...uhh...that." A blush spread up Weiss's slender neck and dusted her cheeks a light pink as she finished her sentence.

"Okay deal." Yang grabbed Weiss's hand eagerly. She liked those little kisses. That much was true. But that didn't mean she didn't like grabbing Weiss by the waist and lifting her up against a wall too. "I feel like my sister." Yang laughed and dashed up the stairs, doing her best to hurry Weiss along with her but also making sure not to actually drag her up the stairs or yank her arm.

They reached the door and Weiss came to a halt at Yang's side. Zwei barked happily and Yang immediately tried to shush him. The last thing they needed was someone from JNPR or APCT coming out here. Then they would want to talk and stuff and they wouldn't have any time. Yang scratched Zwei's head to try and silence his barks and tapped her scroll on the door to open it. She yanked it open when she heard the lock disengage and practically chucked Zwei inside. She saw Ruby and Blake under the blanket on Ruby's bed and called up to them.

"Hey, me and Weiss are gonna be a little later bye." She waved with the hand she had just dumped Zwei out of and shut the door. She could faintly hear Zwei barking and pawing at Weiss's bed to try and get to Ruby. But she and Blake were up in her bed under the covers and didn't look like they were coming down anytime soon. Wait, Ruby and Blake were in _Ruby's bed_? Under the covers? "Sorry babe." Yang didn't even pause long enough to give Weiss an apologetic glance before she threw the door back open and tore across the room to Ruby's bedside. "What's going on here?"

"Hmm?" Blake looked up from the book she was reading and glanced at Yang innocently. Ruby was snoring quietly, hands draped around Blake's neck and head lolled off to the side. She looked perfectly peaceful and more importantly, perfectly clothed. Blake had one arm around Ruby' shoulders, holding her close and the other supporting her book. Yang tried her best to recover herself and assume control of her emotions.

"Wait Blake." Yang caught herself and lowered her voice to avoid waking Ruby. "Does this mean what I think it means?" Yang gripped the edge of the bed eagerly. She hadn't realized how much she was anticipating this until she saw them lying there. She was full of hope that they had talked and this was their first time cuddling as a couple and she was happy that cuddling is all that was happening.

"Before I answer…" Blake hesitated, "I need to be sure about what you think this means." Blake looked between Ruby's sleeping form and Yang's bright eyes.

"Ahhhh," Weiss squealed from the doorway and rushed over to the bed. The sound of her girlish scream woke Ruby up enough that she lifted her head and wiped at her eyes sleepily, disentangling herself from Blake in the process. "Oh my Oum look at you two." Weiss stopped at the bedside as Ruby wiped the sleep away and came back to full consciousness.

"Oh, hey Weiss." Ruby glanced at her and sluggishly swung her head to the side to find Yang. "Ahhh." Ruby's eyes went wide and she yelped at her sister's closeness and stumbled backwards on her mattress. She likely would have slipped off, as she had done countless times before, if Blake wasn't right behind her to arrest her retreat. Instead, Ruby slipped off her hands and sprawled across Blake's lap, arms and legs tangled in the blankets as she flailed about helplessly, not entirely coherent yet.

"Hey there," Blake laid a hand softly on Ruby's forehead and she stopped flailing. For a moment the two girls stared into eachother's eyes and Ruby slowly sat up, now much calmer and in control of herself. "Better?" Ruby nodded in affirmation and lifted her head to look at Yang.

"Hey Yang," Ruby said quietly, more than a little embarrassed.

"Alright Ruby. I think you've got some explaining to do here." Yang crossed her arms and leaned back just slightly. She wanted Ruby to at least understand that falling asleep like that alone in the dorm room was slightly inappropriate. Especially when they knew their roommates would be back later that very same evening. But, she was also absolutely overjoyed that it appeared Blake and Ruby were finally a couple.

"Whuh?" Ruby's eyes went wide in shock, "No, no. Nothing happened. I mean, well, something did happen. But I thought, you said outside. Yang what's wrong?" Ruby's eyes darted back and forth between Yang and Weiss. Blake stayed silent. She knew from her talk with Yang how she felt about this so she seemed more than happy to watch Ruby struggle under the pressure.

"Ruby," Weiss snapped. The sharp noise brought Ruby to attention and her restless gaze settled on her partner. "Are you two dating now or not?" Weiss asked quite directly. Why did she always have to ruin everyone's fun. Ice Queen. Yang shot her a dirty look which she thoroughly ignored.

"Well, you see, the thing is…" Ruby began to stammer and falter, more than a little put off by Weiss's attitude. She glanced at the blankets, kneaded the legs of her pajamas in her hands and fidgeted. Blake leaned in from behind and wrapped her arms calmly around Ruby's middle. The action drew Ruby's attention and she twisted her neck to see Blake, then leaned back into her embrace. "Yeah we are." Ruby said with closed eyes and a small smile on her face.

"Ahhhhh!" Weiss screamed again and pulled Ruby halfway down off the bed in a hug. "Oh you stupid little dolt what took you so long?" Ruby choked as Weiss squeezed her around the neck. Yang laughed and glanced over to Blake. She was smiling wider than Yang could ever remember having seen her smile.

"Ahggh Weiss. Please." Ruby made a choking noise in her throat and Weiss finally released her.

"Well I'm sorry. I just thought I would show you how happy I was that you finally stopped being an ignorant little dunce about this whole situation." Weiss crossed her arms and turned her back on them, "We'll see how long it is before I open myself up again."

"Oh don't be like that Weiss." Yang stepped in front of her and wrapped her arms around the slender girl's shoulders. "Come on now, be happy for them."

"I am happy for them." Weiss sighed, "Your sister doesn't seem to appreciate it though."

"I do Weiss I do. But could you do it without choking me next time?" Ruby rubbed at her throat and Blake pulled her back to her in a gentle hug from behind. They nuzzled the sides of their faces together and Yang couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, alright." Yang released Weiss and shook her hands in the air. "If I'm not allowed to make out with Weiss, then you two aren't allowed to do _that_." Yang waved her hands in the couple's general direction as they continued to snuggle.

"You stop it Yang." Blake lifted her cheek away from Ruby to leer at her. "This isn't nearly the same as making out." she lowered her head and continued to snuggle with her brand new girlfriend. "You two can go do that in the hallway if you want." Yang leered right back and stomped back towards her bed.

"Fine, maybe that's what we'll do." Yang grabbed Weiss's hand as she stomped away and turned back once she had reached her bunk. She took off her jacket and threw it on the bed, then offered to take Weiss's which she kindly obliged and allowed. Yang took it off gently, folded it carefully and laid it neatly on the edge of her mattress.

"Thank you Yang." Weiss smiled and nodded her head before taking Yang's arm again.

"Well yeah, that thing costs more than my bike." Yang laughed and strut back over to the bedside. "Alright. We're gonna go." She announced far more loudly than she needed to.

"Okay then, you two have fun," Blake said quietly without lifting from Ruby, "Ruby and I will just be in here. _Alone_." A small smile spread across Blake's lip and Yang nearly yanked her off the bed.

"Guys, guys stop." Ruby pulled away from Blake and shot her signature, 'angry team leader' look at both of them. "Can we not? Please." She took a deep breath and resumed a calm, even look. "Okay, so you two are dating," she cocked her head in Yang and Weiss's direction, "And us two are dating," she leaned her head back towards Blake. "But, we're still a team right? Yang you're my sister. Blake you're her partner. Weiss you're my partner. We need to get along, like all the time." Ruby crossed her arms and regarded them all evenly.

"Yes. Though I'm a little embarrassed to admit it," Weiss shot Ruby an icy look, "Ruby's right. Yang," she turned on her girlfriend, "You need to calm down. They're only snuggling faces. That's perfectly acceptable behavior for an hours old couple." She turned back to Ruby and Blake, "And I, for my part at least, will do my best to ensure that Yang doesn't get out of hand." Yang reached a hand to put it over Weiss's shoulder but she batted it away with a deft smack of the brawler's wrist, never even turning to look at her.

"Sorry Yang," Blake admitted sullenly. "I should be thanking you, not throwing it in your face. You're the only reason I even admitted to all of this." Blake glanced down at Ruby and back at Yang, "You're the only reason I'm getting to date your sister. Thank you Yang." Blake reached a hand forward and Yang met her halfway. They couldn't hug because their respective girlfriends were in the way, but a quick squeeze of each other's hands would do for now.

"So Weiss?" Yang turned slightly and winked at her, "Are we still gonna go make out?"

"You brute!" Weiss slapped Yang's shoulder and her face went bright red. "It was one thing when you were making a point, but, it is quite another to just ask me outright like that."

"Soooo…." Yang laughed to show Weiss she was only kidding, "That's a no then?"

"It is most definitely a no." Weiss dropped to a seated position on her bed, "I can't believe you."

"I can." Ruby raised her hand emphatically without leaving Blake's embrace, "I can totally believe that." Yang laughed loudly and dropped to Weiss's side on her bed.

She slid her arm over the heiress's shoulder and snuck a quick kiss on her cheek. Weiss's whole face and neck went a deeper red but she didn't complain. Yang knew she was just embarrassed in front of the other two but down here where they couldn't see, well that was something entirely different. Yang pulled back but was absolutely thrilled when Weiss darted over and gave her a quick peck back, right at the peak of her cheekbone.

"So," Weiss called up to the bed above them, somehow completely in control of her voice despite the radiant blush she was sporting, "When are you two going to go on your first real date?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked in a slightly more high pitched voice than usual which made Yang more than a little suspicious of Blake. She took a breath though and reminded herself that this was Blake, she had to trust her, she could trust her. "Doesn't this count as a date?"

"No, it most certainly does not." Weiss snapped again, "You two need to go out on a proper date." Weiss went to stand but Yang held her down. Now wasn't the time to get up and lecture them, nor did she want to lose the opportunity to snuggle Weiss. So instead of getting up and pointing authoritatively at them, Weiss slipped back down onto the bed with a muffled eep. Yang snuggled into her, pulling her close and burying her face in Weiss's neck.

There was a moment of silence, likely the two above trying to interpret the noises coming from beneath them. After a second or two of Weiss trying to act offended and Ruby and Blake remaining mostly silent, another thing that made Yang suspicious but at the moment she definitely was in no position to judge, Blake finally spoke up.

"What do you suggest as a _proper_ date then Weiss?" Blake's voice wasn't irritated, it actually sounded curious, like she was looking for ideas. That was good at least. Yang knew that Ruby was still new at this and probably did enjoy just sitting around with Blake and being girlfriends perfectly fine. But, Yang also knew that for them to build a real relationship and start developing in their feelings for each other that they needed to go out on dates, get to know each other even better than they already did and foster this new level of their connection. She was glad to see that Blake seemed to understand that as well, or at least that she wanted to take Ruby out.

"Well, the two of you need to come to some arrangement as to who is taking who out each time. You can trade off or whatever, but one of you should feel special the whole time, like you're being treated." Weiss began and Yang pulled on her shoulder just enough to catch her attention. Weiss stopped mid explanation and turned on Yang.

"What are you talking about?" Yang chuckled, "Just because you're a princess doesn't mean everyone is." Yang leaned forward and gave her now furious girlfriend a kiss on the forehead. "What you two need to do is something that you'll both enjoy. A way for you to spend time together, to talk and enjoy each other's company." she called up to the bed and then realized exactly who she was talking to. "You need to go do more things like you did the other night, just now do them as a couple, not just friends."

"Oh yeah?" Ruby mocked, "And why would you know so much when you and Weiss think such different things?" Yang could tell that Ruby thought she had the upper hand, but she was the older sister, Ruby never got the upper hand.

"We don't Ruby. Weiss just doesn't know it." Yang said calmly and Weiss turned in her arms, staring at her in shock. "See, when we go out, I shower Weiss in compliments and I buy lunch even though she's the rich one, I hold her hand and open doors and do all those sorts of things." Weiss's shock lessened and her blush slowly returned as Yang rattled off the conscious efforts she made on her behalf. "But I do those things because it makes her happy and it makes me happy to see her smile." Yang smiled down at Weiss and saw that embarrassed happy look that she loved more than almost anything else. It was beat by a few things, Ruby and her Dad for instance, but really not all that much.

Weiss leaned up and kissed Yang full on the mouth. Yang wanted to protest but then remembered that Ruby couldn't see them and so pulled Weiss closer to her. She held the smaller girl tight and put one hand against the back of her head, letting her know that she didn't want her to leave.

"Okay, well." Ruby thought out loud and Yang took the opportunity to continue kissing Weiss, "How about this Friday then? We can go out and you two can stay in. Everybody wins right?" Yang pressed the kiss one last time and pulled away so she could answer her sister. Weiss made a small noise of disappointment, barely audible even to Yang, and tucked her head against the blonde's shoulder.

"That sounds great to me." Yang hollered, "What are you two gonna do?"

"We'll figure it out." Blake said evenly, "Don't make her freak out about it. As long as we get to spend time together, I know we'll enjoy ourselves."

"Yeah." Ruby called out defiantly, "Me and Blake will have plenty of fun on our own." Yang could practically see Ruby's tongue over the edge of the bed she was sticking it out so far.

"Yeah, yeah I'm sure you will." Yang teased, "Now, kick Blake out of your bed so we can go to sleep." Weiss giggled and Ruby and Blake both sighed audibly. Yang figured there was no harm in giving them a few more moments alone up there, especially considering it gave her and Weiss a few more moments alone down here.

She kissed the top of Weiss's head which brought her attention up to her. Then Yang lowered her mouth down to Weiss's and pressed a soft, slow kiss to her lips. It wasn't long before Weiss slipped her tongue in between Yang's lips and they wrapped their arms fully around one another. Yang pulled her close and swung one leg over Weiss's legs, wrapping her fully up in her limbs. She knew Weiss was always cold and she knew how much she enjoyed sharing Yang's natural warmth. Yang also knew how much she loved to have as much of herself in contact with the other girl as possible.

"And how is it that you're allowed to tell us to behave ourselves?" Blake asked calmly. Weiss nearly jumped out of Yang's arms and they whipped their heads up to regard the Faunus girl. Somehow she had climbed down from Ruby's bed without making a noise. Weiss literally shoved Yang out of her bed and threw a pillow over her own head in embarrassment. Yang didn't have to see her face to know how red she was.

"Oh you shut it." Yang levered herself up off the floor and stomped away to her bed. Of course Blake had come down and ruined their perfectly intimate moment.

"Oh gross, were they making out?" Ruby asked no one in particular.

"Don't worry," Blake said softly, "Weiss promised they'd behave remember?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Oh. My. Oum. It feels good to have good, old fashioned fluff again. Honestly, after how long this story has been as serious as it is, I am really glad to be able to post happy little fluffy chapters with almost zero drama like this. I hope you all enjoyed it just as much as I did.
> 
> I continue to have a lot of fun playing with perspective here, mostly using it to tease all of you. Who knows what Ruby and Blake were doing up there? Perhaps they were just snuggling and whispering sweet nothings to each other. Perhaps they were doing more… I will leave that up to however smutty your imagination is. Just remember, that bed is hanging, so it would sway if they tried anything too adventurous up there.
> 
> Can't wait to hear what you all think. Over the weekend we'll get a for realsies Ladybug date. Ahhhh I'm so happy we're finally here!
> 
> -Zach


	47. The Same But Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Ruby practically threw her bag against the bookcase in their dorm in her excitement. Today was her very first real date with Blake and she was just about ready to burst at the seams. Ruby dipped her head into the bathroom to check and see if anyone was there, they weren't, did a quick scan of everyone's beds to make sure they were clear, they were, and then locked the door and drew the curtains just to be safe.

She whipped her cloak off her shoulders and laid it carefully across her desk to be retrieved once she was done getting ready. Ruby basically ripped her school uniform off, nearly popping several of the buttons in her haste and discarded it in a pile by the hamper. She darted into the bathroom and kicked the shower on full blast. Steam slowly filled the room and she hummed happily while she undid her bra. Once her bra was off and left on the floor Ruby regarded herself in the mirror.

She was still petite, not nearly as developed as her friends and teammates. She wasn't trying to catch up to Yang or anything, she understood that they had different moms and they got different genes. But, couldn't she at least catch up to Weiss? Two years older or not, Weiss barely ate anything and even tried to downplay her bust with her fancy clothes and slender dresses. But Ruby wore a corset for Oum's sake, couldn't she show off just a little?

With a non-committal shrug because there was literally nothing she could do about it, Ruby slipped off her panties and hopped in the shower. It took her less than five minutes to scrub down, wash her short hair and make sure everything was ready to go for her date. She had shaved this morning so that wasn't a concern. Her make-up was minimal as always and took just a few more minutes to apply. Once she was completely satisfied with her appearance Ruby bounced back into the main room of the dorm on happy feet and did a little spin.

She was really getting to go out with Blake today. It felt like a dream come true. She hadn't even liked her for that long but somehow it felt like this date was long overdue.

Ruby rifled through her drawers until she came across her matching red and black underwear. It wasn't racy or anything and she had absolutely zero plans for Blake to see it anytime soon, but she just wanted to wear them because she liked them and it would make her even happier. Plus, the top had a little lift in it that she really wouldn't mind right now.

As she craned her arms around her back to get the clasp in place there was a hard knock on the door. It caught Ruby so off guard she nearly pitched forward into the bookcase but caught herself on an extended foot.

"Who is it?" Ruby called without turning. She finished clasping her bra together and looked frantically for the rest of her outfit. Was Blake here already? But Ruby had run back to the dorms as fast as she could and Blake's last class was so far away. No there's no way she was back yet.

"C'mon Rubes." Yang pounded on the door again, "Undo the deadbolt, it's just me." Relief washed over Ruby, she swept her cloak off her desk and wrapped it around her bare shoulders to conserve her modesty while she let Yang inside. Then dashed over to the door, undid the bolt and hurried her sister in from the hall before slamming it shut and reapplying the lock.

"Alright, alright, now help me pick an outfit Yang." Ruby laid her cloak back across her desk and returned to her dresser. "And yes, before you even ask, I'm wearing my cloak. I like it and Blake likes it and I'm wearing it." Ruby didn't have to turn to know her sister was smirking at her.

"So you're a little excited are you Rubes?" Yang asked in a teasing tone.

"Well yeah of course I am." Ruby didn't need this from her right now. Blake was going to be here soon so she could get ready and Ruby needed to be ready before that.

"Would you say you're so excited you're _red in the face_?" Yang suppressed a snicker and Ruby spun around to face her.

"I don't even… Yang what does that even mean?" Ruby lolled her head off to the side in confusion. ' _Red in the face_ '? What was Yang going on about?

"I dunno, you just seem really red is all. Your cloak, that push-up bra, the matching underwear." Yang's face dropped, "Wait, Ruby. Why are you wearing such cute underwear?" Yang grabbed her by the shoulders. "You two aren't planning on anything are you?"

"What? Oh Yang no!" Ruby swatted Yang's hands off her shoulders. "Would you stop that. Just because you and Weiss can't control yourselves doesn't mean we can't. And we've only been dating like a week, not even yet." Ruby turned back around and continued rifling through her drawers.

"Well," Yang crossed her arms, "I mean, Weiss can control herself. No matter what I do." Yang muttered under her breath and Ruby giggled. Of course Weiss was stringing her along for a little bit. She would lose her whole, untouchable princess thing if she just jumped all over Yang like Ruby was sure she wanted to. Weiss wasn't really a physical person, yet she seemed to touch Yang a lot, that had to mean something good.

"So are you gonna help me pick an outfit or not?" Ruby asked as she tossed aside another pair of skinny jeans. She wanted to look good for Blake, and kinda dress up, not just wear normal clothes. She found a v-neck that was a little big for her and tossed it aside too, it didn't quite fit and always fell off her shoulder.

"Okay, okay. Just stop." Yang picked Ruby up from behind in outstretched arms and set her off to the side, "Here, let me just do it." Ruby plopped down impatiently on Weiss's bed and crossed her arms. She knew that it would be better this way, but she didn't like not being able to do anything. She felt useless and they didn't have a lot of time. Instead she went over to her cloak and checked it for little bits of lint or loose strings.

"Yang…? Ruby called out after a few seconds of silence, the room filled only by the noise of their activities. "Do you think my date will go okay?" The lull in activity had allowed a bit of doubt to enter Ruby's mind. Of course Blake liked her and they were both excited to go out together and things had been great since they started dating. Still, there was always the chance that she could mess it up terribly.

"You're gonna do great Ruby. Really, just be you. Blake likes you." Yang didn't turn from Ruby's dresser. "Trust me sis'. But just in case," Yang spun around, arms full of clothes, "She'll like you way more in these." Yang ran at Ruby and shoved the clothes into her arms.

"Are you sure? It's not that different." Ruby looked at all the greys and blacks in her arm. It was the same kind of thing she always wore.

"No really, it'll be perfect." Yang shooed her towards the bed so she could start getting dressed. Ruby slipped into the tights, slid the long sleeve grey shirt on and wrapped the black corset around her waist. It had red strings that contrasted really well against all the dark colors and would stand out with her cloak on. At least that meant Yang wasn't fighting her on the cloak thing.

After they had laced Ruby up she wiggled into the combat skirt and pulled on her boots. She stood and did a little spin in front of their mirror and really was pleased with what Yang had picked. She had long sleeves with a cool little insignia on the arm and the corset had straps that came up over her shoulders that was quite comfortable. The tights and combat skirt did a good job of covering her up while still appearing a bit alluring, showing off her legs without revealing any skin. Yang had even pulled out a big red scarf, exactly the same shade as her cloak, that she could wrap around her neck to stay warm without having to pull her cloak around her. All in all, Yang couldn't have done better.

"Oh Yang, it's so awesome." Ruby spun around again, not to look at herself but just out of pure joy and happiness. "I love it! Thank you." Ruby fell on her sister, giggling and hugging her. She honestly hadn't remembered she even had some of these things and it was almost like Yang had bought her a whole new outfit by putting it all together.

"Alright Rubes, alright." Yang laughed and hugged her back, "I'm glad you like it. You look good." Yang pushed Ruby away just enough to be able to kiss her forehead. "You look really good sis'. Just remember to have fun with Blake, don't stress about it okay?"

"Yeah I promise." Ruby smiled and pulled her sister back into their hug. "Do you know where she is though? She still has to get ready and we're gonna miss stuff if she doesn't hurry."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much," Yang glanced at the clock and then back to Ruby, "I've never known Blake to be late to anything."

"Yeah but like, once she gets here she still has to shower and get ready and what could be taking her so long? You don't think she forgot do you?" Ruby began to bundle herself up in worry. She had been mentioning it to Blake all day long, obviously, but still. What if something came up in one of her last few classes and she spaced out or she had to take care of something for school. There were a million different reasons she could be late and no matter how benign the reason, it meant they were going to miss out on their date together.

"Relax, relax." Yang shushed Ruby with her hands, "I'm sure she'll be here any minute _meow_."

"Yaaaang" Ruby whined but cut her own retort off when another knock came at the door. She had completely forgotten that she had locked it and she ran over to correct her mistake before Weiss got mad for being forced to wait in the hall or something. She clicked the dead bolt over, swung the door open and was immediately met by Blake.

"Hey Ruby," Blake waved kindly, a small smile on her face. She was wearing a whole new outfit from earlier in the day. Blake had her hands behind her back and was wearing a small white jacket that bared almost as much of her midriff as Yang usually showed off, skin tight black jeans that gripped every curve just right and high topped combat boots with buckles and straps all over the place. She had wrapped velvety black ribbons around her wrists and tied them off just below the elbow. Of course, she sported her bow as always. No matter how much Ruby liked her ears, she understood that Blake still wanted to hide them from the world. Despite the ear bindings, Ruby still thought Blake looked really good, almost sexually attractive in a way Ruby hadn't considered before.

"H-Hey Blake," Ruby stammered. She had expected Blake to show up sweaty and exhausted from her combat classes at the end of the day. She would need to shower and get ready for their date and then they would leave together. Instead, Blake looked fresh and clean and was wearing an outfit Ruby had never seen before.

"You look really pretty." Blake said softly and Ruby could swear she had a little red in her cheeks but she had to be imagining. Was Blake here to pick her up?

"You look really nice to. I-uhh…" Ruby was going to tell her exactly what she thought but realized saying she looked sexy was maybe a bit out of bounds at this point, "I like your jacket." Ruby knew her cheeks were red but she didn't want to stare at the floor and miss a second of Blake.

"Thank you Ruby. Oh, I got these for you," Blake pulled her hands from behind her back and offered Ruby a small cluster of three roses, two red and one black. Ruby's hands shook as she reached out to take them from her. When had Blake even had time to go out and grab something like this? It was so pretty and seemed almost like it was her and Blake because of the colors, or was it just supposed to be Ruby? She did wear a lot of black. It didn't matter, either way it was really sweet. Ruby took the roses carefully and mumbled out what she hoped was a thank you before turning around quickly to face Yang.

Ruby was about to lose her mind this was so sweet of Blake. She had gotten ready somewhere else, probably JNPR's room, and gotten her flowers on top of that. Ruby loved the idea of being picked up for her dates like this. If she had still been attending Signal and living in Patch she would have lived at home. If that was the case then every time she went on a date they would have had to pick her up and talk to her Dad and it would have been totally different. Even though she had been skipped ahead two years, Ruby wanted to have her dates be at least a little bit the same.

"Hi Yang, how are you?" Blake waited outside the door while Ruby stepped away to set the roses somewhere safe. Was she supposed to get water for them? She didn't have a vase. She stumbled into the bathroom while they talked. Ruby closed the door behind her and fumbled through the cupboard with one hand, carefully supporting the small bouquet with the other. She found a really tall, skinny glass, filled it about halfway with water and eased the roses down into it. She set the makeshift vase to the side and gripped the sides of the sink. Blake was doing so amazing and Ruby was having more than a little trouble remaining calm.

She turned on the cold water, with the intent of splashing it on her face to help her focus, but stopped short of putting her hands in the water. If she splashed water all over her face it would probably get on her clothes and it would definitely mess up her makeup. She shut the water back off and locked eyes with herself in the mirror.

"You can do this Ruby Rose." She squeezed the countertop, "She's trying so hard for you. You can do this." Ruby took a few deep breaths and lifted the vase carefully with both hands. She opened the door and moved swiftly to her bedside, set the roses on the bookshelf and turned back to Blake. "Thank you for the roses Blake. They're really pretty... Like you." Ruby had meant to say the last part as confidently as possible but wound up looking at the ground as she did.

"Of course Ruby. I just wanted you to have something nice from tonight." Blake closed her eyes and smiled big and wide, wider than Ruby remembered her ever really smiling. "Are you ready to go? I don't want us to be late." Blake didn't pull out her scroll or check the time on the wall clock, she kept her eyes on Ruby, all her attention focused on the younger girl.

"Yeah, just let me grab my cloak." Ruby skipped over to the desk, threw her cloak over her shoulders and met Blake at the door. Yang was standing just off to the side, leaning on the door frame and smiling like the big idiot of an older sister she was. Ruby gave her a quick hug around the waist and stepped out into the hall with Blake. "Bye Yang. We're gonna see a movie after the signing so we'll be home pretty late." Ruby reached out and took Blake's hand, winding their fingers together as if they'd done it a million times.

"Alright, be safe you two." Yang pushed off the wall and stood to her full height, "And you be good to my sister now partner." Yang shook a _very_ authoritative finger at Blake and never lost her smile. "Have fun. And don't forget your book." Yang extended the novel they had been reading together out and Blake took it happily.

"Thanks Yang." Blake glanced at Ruby and then back to the blonde, "That would have been embarrassing."

Yang closed the door and left the couple alone in the hallway. Ruby felt all the excitement and pressure rush back as soon as the lock clicked. This is it. She was finally getting to go on this date with Blake. She'd been looking forward to it all week and now that it was finally here she couldn't believe it. It was going so well, Blake was doing so great and looked so good. Ruby already knew they were going to have a good time.

Blake gave Ruby's hand a little squeeze and they started down the hallway. The air seemed to buzz around them and Ruby felt like skipping would be a far more appropriate method of walking to convey how happy she was. However, this was a date and so she clung to Blake's hand and walked calmly at her side.

"Hey Ruby?" Blake kept her eyes straight ahead, staring down the hall as they walked. Ruby looked up and saw how absolutely reserved and relaxed she was. Was Blake not nervous at all? How many times had she done this before? Of course Blake wasn't nervous. She had to have been on a ton of dates before, she probably started before Ruby and was two years older. Ruby would have to really step it up to make sure she didn't embarrass herself.

"Yeah Blake, what's up?" Ruby asked, leaving her eyes on her new girlfriend. She found that once she glanced at her she really didn't want to look away.

"I'm uhh-" Blake stuttered and Ruby almost stopped walking she was so surprised. "I'm really nervous." Blake let out a little laugh and glanced down at Ruby.

"Me too." Ruby's eyes went as wide as saucers and she squeezed Blake's hand. "I'm so nervous Blake I can barely walk." Ruby laughed a little and then they both broke into fits of giggles just as they reached the top of the stairs. They waited until they had both recovered and Ruby leaned forward to hug Blake.

"We shouldn't be nervous should we?" Blake asked with Ruby still wrapped around her.

"No," Ruby let out another small laugh. Yang had been totally right. They both really liked each other, all they needed to do was act like they always did. "We're gonna have a great time." They broke the hug mutually and Blake extended her hand for Ruby to take. Hand in hand they headed down the stairs and out to the airships.

* * *

"So how did you hear about this again?" Ruby asked Blake as they departed the airship. The air was fresh outside and just a little crisp. Ruby snuggled her cheeks against the scarf tied around her neck and was glad Yang had helped her pick it out.

"Well, Tukson has a mailing list set up for events like this." Blake stepped back just slightly to let an elderly gentleman up ahead of them. "It's not a huge deal though right? I don't think a lot of people will actually show up."

They meandered off the ship with everyone else, taking their time and moving with the flow of the crowd. As they emerged from the crowd into the open space around the landing pad Ruby felt a certain pang of nostalgia. She glanced over at the trashcans, then at the bathroom building. It was odd to still have her date with her, holding her hand. Odd, but nice.

"You okay Ruby?" Blake asked sweetly, "Do you need a second?"

"No, no I'm great." Ruby pulled on Blake's arm just enough to be able to hug it with her other arm for a second. "Come on let's go." Ruby stepped away, pulling Blake by the hand off towards Tukson's store.

They trotted along at a fairly brisk pace because they were actually running a little late after all the fiasco at the dorm. Blake kept her book clutched tight to her chest and they both kept each other's hand gripped tightly. Ruby felt like their hands might start to sweat if they held this tight but didn't really care, as long as Blake didn't.

The sun was still mostly out, but, there was already a little breeze coming off the bay and Ruby knew it would be cold by the time they left the movie. She just hoped that meant that she and Blake maybe would snuggle a bit on the way back to Beacon. They got to the store and Ruby realized she was thinking way too far ahead. She needed to focus on the here and now and enjoy every second of it.

Blake opened the door and they were confronted by a pulsing throng of people that put the group at the club to shame. At least it looked like it did in the confines of Tukson's small shop. Ruby squeezed in, excusing herself as she bumped into someone and Blake sidled in behind her. They both tried to avoid running into the people around them and wound up pressed against one another instead. Honestly Ruby didn't mind that at all, since they didn't have a choice about it.

They glanced at each other and met eyes for a second before giggling.

"Okay so maybe I was wrong," Blake glanced around at the crowd and sighed. "Sorry."

"It's okay Blake," Ruby smiled, hoping it would infect Blake as well ,"This just means our favorite book is really, really popular." Blake grimace eased into a small smile and Ruby felt her squeeze her hand.

"Blake? Is that you back there?" Tukson called out from behind his counter.

"Hi Tukson," Blake raised the arm with the book and waved over the heads of the crowd.

"Come on over here, hurry up." Tukson beckoned them across the store. "Can you please make way everyone." Tukson called out to the crowd, "We have a couple VIP's please make some room for them." Several people pressed out of their path and Ruby and Blake were able to squeeze their way over to Tukson's cash register. He welcomed them to step behind the counter and they were finally free of the throng.

"Thanks Tukson. You didn't have to do that." Blake said once they were able to breathe more easily.

"Nonsense, you're my best customer." Tukson laughed heartily and slammed a large, muscled hand down on the counter, "And I'll be a Grimm herder. You two finally seal the deal?" He gestured at them with his other hand.

"What do you mean finally?" Ruby asked incredulously.

"Well, I'm an old man miss." Tukson gave her a warm smile, "I know two people are head over heels for each other when I see it."

"You're not that old Tukson." Blake smiled back at the man.

"Stop changing the subject." He laughed again, "I'm happy for you two. Young love is beautiful." Then Ruby saw her.

"Oh my OUM!" Ruby screamed and drew the attention of more than a few of the patrons. "Blake," Ruby fell to almost a whisper, realizing what she had done, "Blake there she is." Ruby pointed emphatically over the counter at a woman seated behind a folding table. It was the author of the book series they'd been reading together, she was here doing a book signing. It was why they had come, why this whole crowd had come.

"Tukson wow," Blake gasped, "You actually got her to come."

"Of course I did. I advertised it and I delivered. Like always." He crossed his arms smugly across his chest.

"But how?" Ruby squealed again. "She never does any small places like this. It's always huge stores and big press events and stuff."

"Really? I didn't realize she was that popular." Blake shook her head, "I thought we were the only ones really obsessed with her books."

"Well, see that's the thing about her though." Tukson gestured over at the woman calmly greeting customers and signing books. "She's pretty friendly with Faunus run businesses, because, well, ya know, she's a Faunus." Blake and Ruby both glanced over and saw that the woman did indeed have a long tail hanging out the back of the folding chair she was sitting at.

"I had no idea." Blake said quietly.

"Ahhh Blake! We have to get her to sign your book." Ruby pulled Blake back off towards the back of the line.

"No wait Ruby, wait. There's no way." Blake held her firm and pointed at the huge crowd. "We'll never make it to the movie if we wait in this line. We might even miss the last airship." Blake's eyes dropped and Ruby was certain her ears would have too if it weren't for that dang bow holding them in place. Ruby sighed as well though because Blake was right, there was no way they had enough time to wait through the line.

"Don't even worry about it." Tukson lifted himself up onto the counter and stood, "Ladies and Gentlemen. I have a special request." He gestured down at the two girls behind the counter with him. "These two wonderful young ladies are Huntresses down from Beacon Academy and they came to get their books signed tonight. But, they didn't realize the crowd that would be here and they have to get back to the Academy. Would you all mind terribly if they got to cut ahead?"

"Tukson no," Blake swatted at his leg. Ruby felt herself blushing a deep red that surely made her face fade away into her scarf and cloak. Everyone in the store was looking at them and they were holding hands and it was so weird. Ruby did not like this kind of attention but they couldn't avoid it right now.

The crowd responded with something between a small round of applause and a cheer of affirmation. The customers immediately in front of the table stepped back just slightly to make room for them. Blake and Ruby both looked at the ground and refused to move.

"Well come on. They aren't gonna wait all night." Tukson hopped down off the counter and pushed both girls over towards the signing table. The author greeted them with a warm smile. Ruby kept her eyes on the ground and Blake was able to eek out a small wave.

"Uhh hi." Blake said.

"Sorry about that." Ruby mumbled, "We didn't wanna cause a fuss or anything."

"That's quite alright. The work you do is the only reason I can do mine." she looked back and forth between them kindly. "Now who do I make it out to?" she extended her hand and Blake offered up the book without hesitation.

"It's for her," Blake said quickly, "For Ruby Rose."

"Blake no." Ruby yanked on her arm and shot her a mean glare. "You have to get it. Not me. Blake Belladonna," Ruby announced and the lady smiled and let out a small laugh.

"You know, I think I have a solution." She lifted a fresh hardback copy from the stack at her side and made it out to Ruby then opened Blake's copy and made out the autograph to Blake. "There, that should do nicely." She blew gently on the ink to dry it before closing the cover and sliding the books back across the table towards them.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you." Ruby rushed out excitedly and grabbed the book. Blake made for her wallet but the author stopped her.

"No, no that will be quite alright." she extended her hand to stop Blake, "I could never charge a pair of huntresses such as yourselves." Blake and Ruby both glanced at her and then at Tukson and then back at her. "I will pay for the copy myself so that Mr. Tukson here doesn't feel it at all." She offered another warm smile and Ruby felt herself melt inside.

"Thank you ma'am." Blake bowed her head just slightly in thanks, "That's incredibly generous of you."

"Alright now hurry along, you two have important Huntress duties to attend to I'm sure." She waved her hands at them and shooed them away. "Our brave Huntresses everybody!" She called out to the gathered crowd, "The real heroes!" The crowd erupted into much louder applause than before, clapping and clamoring and making a path so the girls could exit the store unhindered. Tukson watched them leave, a pleased smile on his face.

Ruby felt like she was walking through a dream. How could any of that have been real? It seemed absolutely unbelievable what had just happened. Their absolute favorite author ever had been so impressed by what they did that she had given them a free copy of her book, free autographs and complimented them like that in front of a huge crowd. It was incredible.

It wasn't until they were outside that Ruby and Blake came to their senses. The cold night air like a jolt to their systems, shocking them out of the trance.

"Blake… what just happened?" Ruby turned slowly to face her girlfriend. Blake had the novel back out and was looking at the signature.

"Ruby, Ruby she knew I was a Faunus!" Blake yelled. Ruby glanced around the street, but other than the people crammed in Tukson's store it appeared to be mostly empty, not really anyone to overhear her secret. "Look! Look!" Blake held the book out for Ruby to see.

"To a beautiful girl, a brave Huntress, and a fellow Faunus. Enjoy the novel (and your adorable girlfriend)." Read the personalized note which was followed by an autograph so flourished and stylized that it was basically unreadable.

"Blake that's amazing." Ruby hugged her tight. She was sure her signature said something sweet too. But, 'a fellow Faunus', those had to be some of the sweetest words Blake had ever read. Ruby glanced up from where her head was nuzzled against Blake's chest and saw small tears starting to bud. "Oh Blake." Ruby stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed Blake's cheek, right beneath her eye where a single tear had spilled out.

Blake sniffled once and wiped at her face. She smiled down at Ruby and returned the kiss, placing it right between Ruby's eyebrows.

"Come on Ruby. Let's go to the movie." Blake slid her free hand down to grip Ruby's and they headed off down the road towards the theater, both clinging to each other and their new treasures.

The theater was fairly crowded, even for a Friday evening. It was winter time and lots of new movies were coming out. The action flicks of summer were starting to fade and there were more intellectual pieces, a few romances, some horrors and a stray holiday film that apparently got released a little earlier than it should have.

"Two for the eight o'clock _Faunus in Mistral_." Blake asked for their tickets and passed their combined Lien back through the slot for the girl to take.

"I haven't seen a romantic comedy in so long." Ruby thought aloud as she glanced at the other movie titles. There was a new _Tales of Remnant_ film out. This one was about a Huntress who had to save a mountainside village from a flock of Nevermores that was trying to make their village into a new nest. Ruby had heard that she singlehandedly fought an Alpha Nevermore and that of course had immediately grabbed her attention after their own encounter during training.

But, Blake had suggested this film instead and Ruby had to admit it did sound like a slightly better date movie than a gory action that may or may not end in the Huntress dying. This way they could hold hands and giggle and have fun, not be reminded of how dangerous their lives were and that they could lose each other any day. Yeah, the romantic comedy was definitely better. Plus this way it wouldn't feel like when she used to come here with Jaune.

The cashier passed their tickets back to them and wished them a good evening. They walked off towards the theaters but Ruby pulled up short.

"We gotta get snacks though," Ruby refused to watch a movie without her tub of popcorn. It was an absolute necessity. They grabbed the huge bucket of popcorn, which Blake offered to carry since at least she was taller than it was, and a big red slushie drink to share.

"Do you think we have enough popcorn?" Blake asked sarcastically as they made their way into the already darkened theater.

"I don't know," Ruby mused, stretching up to take a piece off the top, "I mean, I'll try and share a little." She giggled and lifted the straw of the slush drink to Blake's mouth so she could take a sip. "Do you see any seats?" Ruby asked, knowing that her girlfriend's incredible night vision would pick out a pair of empty seats in no time.

"Hmmm." Blake hummed delightedly at the sweet flavor of the drink and glanced around. There weren't a lot of seats. Some scattered around, a few pairs or trios but all far off to the sides where the angle wouldn't be as good. But, it looked like the top row was almost completely empty with four empty seats right in the middle. "Yeah, there's some." Blake pointed up to the top and Ruby followed her hand.

"Oh yay! I love being up top." Ruby skipped ahead excitedly and started up the stairs. She reached the top just ahead of Blake who was taking a bit longer because she was trying to maneuver the giant popcorn without spilling it everywhere or running into anyone. "Excuse me," Ruby asked in a loud whisper, "Are those seats taken?"

"Oh no, go ahead." The man in the seat nearest to her stood to let them by. The next couple audience members just slid their legs to the side or tried their best to get out of the way for them.

Blake caught up and together they sidled past everyone else with a flurry of excuse mes and thank yous until they had managed to squeeze over to the middle two seats. That left a nice little buffer for each of them with one empty seat between them and the nearest stranger. It also gave them what Ruby considered prime seating, all the way at the top and right in the middle.

"Alright yeah, just put it on the floor and we can still totally reach all the popcorn." Ruby helped Blake ease the popcorn down to a spot where they could both reach it. "There we go yeah, we can get it and still uhhh…" Ruby felt the heat rush to her cheeks and was embarrassed when she realized that Blake could see it even in the dark, "We can uhh hold hands." Ruby extended her hand out to the side and Blake worked her fingers in between hers. A smile spread across both their faces and Ruby wiggled about in her seat in happiness. She had been right, this date was going really well.

* * *

The air was plenty cold when they got out, just as Ruby had feared. She wasn't concerned for herself, but for Blake. Ruby had her scarf and her cloak and was really actually pretty bundled up. Blake's jacket didn't even go all the way to her waist and she had skin showing. She had to be cold.

"Blake are you okay?" Ruby turned to her as they exited the theatre, "It's kinda cold isn't it?"

"Oh no, I'll be okay." Blake put on a good face but Ruby could tell she was just acting for her. So, she sidled up next to her and wrapped an arm around Blake's waist. It wasn't much, she knew, but hopefully it would be enough to help Blake stay warm.

Blake smiled and dropped her arm over Ruby's shoulder, pulling her in close. Ruby liked the contact, it felt good to hold each other like this and they could still walk. So together they headed back towards the airship, wrapped up snuggly in one another's warmth.

"Did you like the movie?" Blake asked without turning down to Ruby, keeping her close.

"Yeah I did." Ruby ran little circles on Blake's stomach with her finger. Her skin was so soft but so firm at the same time. "I liked both characters and it was pretty funny. Plus Mistral is just so pretty."

"Isn't it? Some of their architecture is incredible. It was a great place to shoot a movie like that." Blake was rubbing her thumb back and forth across Ruby's shoulder. She found the little motion soothing and hoped Blake thought the same of what she was doing to her side. "I just wish it hadn't focused so much on the fact that they were Faunus. Like, the night time picnic was cute but all the stuff about them smelling each other and stuff was really bad."

"I guess yeah. I don't know. It just didn't stand out that much to me." Ruby glanced at the ground and stopped rubbing the little circles on Blake's side. "Maybe I was a little bit distracted."

"Ruby." Blake laughed and hugged her tight for a moment, "Well I had a good time regardless. I would go see the worst movie ever made if I got to do it with you."

"Ohh Blake," Ruby wanted to turn away but didn't want to break contact with her. Why was she so sweet? "Don't say that. I'll go find it. Really I will."

They both laughed and then continued on in a comfortable silence until they reached the landing pad. The ship was ready and waiting, loading several other passengers on. Blake and Ruby stepped into line and filed on behind the other passengers. As was the usual at this time of night, it was mostly Beacon students headed back to campus after a day out. Ruby easily made out the lumbering form of Yatsuhashi far ahead of them in line. She could also see Velvet's adorable bunny ears bobbing along at his side.

"Blake," Ruby whispered hoping it was loud enough for Blake to hear and quiet enough that Velvet wouldn't. "Blake do you see them?" Ruby pointed forward in line to their two friends from Team CFVY. Blake nodded and Ruby continued, "Do you think they're dating? I don't see Coco or Fox anywhere."

"If they are I don't think we should interrupt." Blake leaned down and whispered. Ruby knew she was right so they filed in and purposefully sat on the far opposite side of the ship from them. That didn't stop Ruby from trying to sneak a peek at what they were up to though.

Yatsuhashi was leaning back against the side of the ship and Velvet was resting her head on his shoulder, both of her hands wrapped around one of his massive ones. They looked absolutely adorable like that and Ruby let out an excited little squeal.

"Look, look they are," Ruby turned to Blake and found a broad smile on her face.

"They look very happy together don't they?" Blake slid over so that she and Ruby's thighs and hips were pressed against each other on the bench. Ruby slid her arm back around Blake's waist and leaned her head on her shoulder. She really hoped they looked as cute as Yatsuhashi and Velvet did. Blake laid her hand in Ruby's lap and they intertwined their fingers.

"Yeah," Ruby mumbled happily, "Almost as happy as us." Blake leaned her head down and snuggled against Ruby's. Ruby felt a pulse of excitement run through her as she was getting exactly the ending to this date she had wanted. They were getting to snuggle on the way back to Beacon. She was so happy and ready to tell someone all about it until she realized the first person she would usually tell was already right at her side. Ruby snuggled in closer to Blake and promised herself she would tell Yang and Weiss in the morning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Yay Ladybug Date! We're finally here everyone. Was it nice? Was it sweet? Did it make your heart go 'awww'? I hope so. That was the general idea.
> 
> So, we are dangerously close to the end now and I'm feeling that familiar sadness I got when Clubbin' ended. It'll be nice to move on to other projects but also heartbreaking to leave this behind. I just… I love Ladybug so much!
> 
> Ah well, that's how stories go right? They have an end and then you have to go back to other things. Oum forbid, even RWBY will eventually have an end (though hopefully not for a long while).
> 
> Please let me know what you thought. This was a fun chapter to write because they're just so cute.
> 
> -Zach


	48. One Big, Happy Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Weiss rolled over and shed the blanket she had pulled over herself. She wasn't quite awake yet but she was aware of the fact that it was far too hot under all these blasted covers. How was it that the school could afford to keep the heaters running all night like this? Did no one have the decency to simply wear some warm pajamas and get under blankets? Not everyone had as much money as her, they needed to be respectful of that.

Weiss rolled over again and felt the rough school sheets crinkle under her arm. Maybe, just maybe, if they didn't spend so much Lien on the heaters they could spare a few extra for better sheets. Weiss thought she had put something better on her mattress but perhaps those were in the wash. She couldn't quite remember right now whether or not they were doing laundry this weekend.

Weiss decided that would be the first thing she checked on when it was time to wake up. Without opening her eyes she assumed that it was not yet that time, after all there was no sunlight streaming in through the windows yet and it was a weekend. She resolved to go back to sleep. She was just about there too when something big and heavy fell across her shoulders.

Zwei hadn't got up on her bed again had he? She loved the little furball but she really just wanted to sleep right now. Weiss reached up and grabbed the mass, intending to pull Zwei down in front of her so she could snuggle him properly and drift back to sleep. But it wasn't furry, it wasn't even fuzzy at all, it was an arm.

Weiss's eyes shot open in alarm and she glanced down at the firm muscular arm she had just pulled in front of her. She followed it back with her eyes, knowing and dreading what she would find. Yang was asleep behind her, blonde locks spilling all around her head. Weiss rolled her head off to the other side and realized she was staring across the room at Ruby's bunk.

That's why these sheets were so rough. That's why she couldn't feel the sunlight. And Yang. Yang was the reason it was dust damned hot in this bed. Whether that was because Yang put off so much natural warmth or because being pressed against her had made Weiss unreasonably warm she wasn't sure. That thought is what brought the most startling realization to Weiss's mind.

She was not wearing nearly as much clothing as she should be.

The previous night came back in a rush. Weiss had returned to the room after Ruby and Blake left for their date. Yang was waiting for her, dimmed lights and white flower petals all over the room. She had even procured a few candles to light on the bookshelf and their desks. All in all Weiss had to admit, she didn't realize one of these awful dorm rooms could be made to look so inviting.

Weiss pulled the blankets back over herself, cursing internally for having been thoughtless enough to forget the state of dress she was in. She closed her eyes again and ran through the night's events to clarify exactly what she had let happen.

She and Yang had enjoyed a small dinner Yang had prepared for them. It was nothing fancy, but then again it couldn't have been. They didn't exactly have access to a kitchen. Then Yang had made the first move while they sat on the floor and talked. She'd crawled over to Weiss on all fours, told her how much she cared for her and kissed her so tenderly. Weiss didn't realize Yang could be that gentle.

Heat rushed to her cheeks at the memories. Hands roaming and searching, legs pressed together, Yang pressing her up against the base of her bed. Weiss was new at it, she didn't know what to do and felt foolish the whole time. Yang's hands felt so experienced, so confident, and her own just fumbled about blindly. How was it so hard to work a bra just because it was on someone else?

Weiss lifted the blankets just slightly to check visually and ensure her own undergarments were still in place. They were. She knew her own bra had come off at some point so that didn't surprise her, she never slept with one anyways. She had mostly been checking to ensure that she wasn't entirely naked.

She breathed a soft sigh of relief and let her shoulders relax. They had fooled around. Moved further than they had ever gone before, but not crossed any lines she wasn't prepared for. It had just been the promised privacy of their dorm and the intimacy of the evening that had allowed it. Weiss smiled and scooted backwards until her butt rested against Yang's thighs and her back pressed up against the other girl's ample breasts.

Now that she was back in control of herself, no longer addled by the fog of sleep, she could admit to herself that this was pleasant. Yang was warm and reassuring, not stifling like she had thought. Sleeping with someone wrapped around her felt very nice as well, safe and secure. The fact that it was Yang just made it that much better. Weiss knew that here, in her arms, nothing would happen to her.

Then there was there nudity. Weiss would usually be horrified by how they had completely disregarded normal codes of conduct. This sort of thing should be done in the comfort of their homes, or a very expensive hotel. Definitely somewhere they had a locking door and weren't sharing the room with anyone else. But, this, this was okay actually. Blake and Ruby were in their own beds, possibly only one bed that they shared. She and Yang were here and the distance and blankets provided at least some level of privacy. Plus, Yang felt quite nice pressed up against Weiss's back.

Content in her situation Weiss settled in and returned to her previous goal, sleeping in. Who cared if it was time to wake up? Who cared if other people were already up and about doing things with their lives? Weiss was perfectly happy right where she was. She lifted herself up on an elbow, craned her head back and placed a small kiss on Yang's cheek. A broad smile spread across the blonde's lip but she didn't wake.

Weiss eased herself back down and closed her eyes. Yang mumbled in her sleep and pulled Weiss closer to her. Weiss just hoped Ruby and Blake hadn't thought anything too absurd when they saw them this way.

* * *

"Hey guys." the voice called out, "Guuys can you wake up now?" Weiss stirred and realized it was Ruby who was speaking. "Guys please. We wanna do things."

"Hmm, go back to bed Ruby." Weiss mumbled out and turned over. She buried her face in Yang's collarbone to block out the dorm room lights Ruby had turned on and tried to go back to sleep.

"But Weiss, it's already two in the afternoon." Ruby moaned and Weiss shot up to a sitting position. Her head smacked Yang's chin on the way up but she ignored it. Two in the afternoon? How could she have possibly slept in until two?

"Oww Weiss. What the hell?" Yang was awake now and rubbing at her chin.

"Ahh Weiss please." Ruby screamed and covered her eyes. Weiss remembered again that she wasn't properly clothed and pulled the blankets up over herself.

"Weiss put that back." Blake screamed at her. Weiss looked down and saw that now she had completely uncovered Yang who was just as close to naked as she was.

Ruby had her back turned, staring pointedly at the other set of bunks. Blake had her eyes mostly covered, just a stray gap allowing her to see what Weiss was doing.

"Would you two stop looking!" Weiss shouted and spun her back towards them. She lifted the blanket behind her, arms outstretched to create a makeshift wall. It did well enough at separating their bodies from their teammate's prying eyes. "Uggh can you believe those two?" Weiss moaned and looked down at Yang. She was still rubbing her chin and clearly trying to recover from the whole ordeal herself.

"Wow, your head is so hard." Yang rubbed at her chin and glanced up at Weiss, laughter already in her eyes. "I usually don't get to say that when I'm-" Weiss dropped the blanket from one hand and smacked Yang across the face. The last thing she needed right now was any of her inappropriate jokes.

"Fine, figure this out yourself." Weiss spun the blanket around her like Ruby and her cloak and turned to hop off the bed.

"Oh come on Weiss." Yang moaned as she rubbed her cheek. "Come back to bed." For a second Weiss couldn't decide what would be better. To continue storming away or turn around and smack her again. She opted to head to the bathroom and leave her out here to deal with the other two.

"Wow Weiss. That's cold." Blake giggled and turned around to get Ruby. Yang grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest to cover herself even a little. She didn't really seem to mind though as she made no effort to use the sheets or anything else to preserve her decency.

"I will see you neanderthals in a moment." Weiss scooped up a fresh change of clothes from her dresser and stomped off to the bedroom.

"Don't go," Yang called out, "I might get warm without you here." Weiss could hear her laughter as she slammed the door shut behind her.

How could this morning go any worse? No wait. Her morning was gone because she had seen fit to sleep in all day. That was the worst part. Worse than waking up and exposing herself to her entire team. Worse than being chided by her girlfriend and made a fool of in front of her only two real friends. The worst part was that she had lost nearly an entire day of productivity just because she had wanted to cuddle that blonde oaf a little while longer.

Weiss tightened the blanket around her shoulders even though she was perfectly alone now and released a small whimper. She was letting this relationship get in the way of much more important things. She couldn't allow it to start affecting her life like this. There came a knock at the door and Weiss snapped.

"I'm still changing. What do you think I am? Ruby? I can only move so fast." Weiss spit the words out and dropped her blanket to begin putting on her clothes.

"Weiss," Yang's voice carried softly through the wood, "Hey Weiss I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were so upset." Weiss took a deep breath and gripped the counter again to steady herself. "Really Weiss. I'm sorry. Can I come in?"

Weiss stayed silent. She wanted Yang to come in. She didn't know if she wanted to hug her and let out all her stress or slap her and get it all out that way. Either way, she needed her in this little room with her. Yang apparently understood that because she eased the door open, slipped inside, and shut it quickly behind her.

"Really Weiss." She stayed by the door. Yang had thrown on a t-shirt and gym shorts that covered her up but did nothing to hide her more provocative assets. Dust, the shirt was so small that it just sort of hung off the edge of her breasts, like a loose drapery over her toned stomach "I woke up when you headbutted me and all I remembered was how happy we went to sleep. I'm sorry."

"Come here you big oaf." Weiss stumbled over to Yang and threw her arms around her torso. She clung to her tightly and pushed her face up against Yang's shoulder, trying to hide her shame in Yang's gigantic hair. She couldn't stand there and stare at her anymore, she was too mad and possibly too aroused to allow that. She also couldn't turn her back on her because she really did need her comforting embrace.

Yang slung her arms around Weiss and held her close, stroking one hand slowly through her hair.

"Weiss, how do you keep your hair so soft?" Yang asked as she lowered her face and rubbed her cheek against the top of Weiss's head. "It's like… It's like I'm rubbing my face on silk or something."

"I just take care of myself Yang." Weiss mumbled. She was having a near breakdown and Yang was just asking her about her hair. How did she always manage to calm her down like that? SHe was just so...reassuring to be around.

"Can you take care of me too? I think I might need some help with that." Yang chuckled slightly, not moving her cheek from where it rested on Weiss.

"I think that can be arranged yes," Weiss was glad she had chosen not to slap her, "Oum knows you need it." Weiss laughed and squeezed Yang back before stepping away. "Thanks Yang."

"No problem Snowflake. Now put on some clothes before I lose myself again." Yang spun around and examined the shower curtain very intently. Weiss took her meaning and slipped into her clothes for the day, or at least until they had settled whatever nonsense Ruby was up to and she could take a proper shower. At this point she might end up taking one and then just going back to bed, it was already so late in the day.

"What do you think Ruby's up to?" Weiss asked as she clasped her bra together and reached for her pants.

"I don't know. Could be anything." Yang spoke to the wall, still giving her girlfriend as much time as she needed. Weiss slipped the shirt over her head and turned to check her hair in the mirror. She had slept with it in a ponytail so it didn't need much more than a good brushing to appear passable.

"Okay, well. I'm ready when you are." Weiss announced as she turned back to face Yang. Yang came back around and smiled at her.

"You literally do wake up looking like that." Yang laughed, "Just beautiful all the time."

"Oh stop it." Weiss leaned up and gave Yang a soft kiss on the cheek, "Or I might just lose myself too." Weiss trailed her hand down Yang's chin and along her arm until their hands met. She grasped Yang's and pulled her out the door and back into the dorm room.

"Hurray you have clothes on!" Ruby yelled as soon as they exited.

"Hurray," Blake parroted from her side. They were leaning against the bookcase, hand in hand.

"Well you two are in good spirits. What exactly did you do last night?" Weiss asked as she led Yang over to sit on the edge of her bed. Oh how nice her own sheets felt. Why was it they had decided to sleep on Yang's bed again?

"Nothing like what the two of you were up to." Blake jabbed, a smile on her face.

"Now listen here you," Weiss went to stand but Yang held her hand to the bed.

"You better not have been," She said from her seat, "I already let her get hurt once. It's not gonna happen-"

"Yang stop!" Ruby yelled. "We had an amazing date and Blake was perfect uhhh… what's the lady version of a gentleman? A mistress."

"No Ruby." Blake sounded startled. "No, that's definitely not it."

"Well, you were a perfect date." Ruby leaned over and snuggled her cheek against Blake's shoulder. "Plus look what we got." Ruby jumped up from Blake's side and grabbed that book they'd been reading together.

"Oh wow that's awesome Rubes." Yang leafed through to the page the author had signed and smiled. "Check it out Weiss." Weiss had to admit, getting an autograph from a celebrity of any stature, even an author, had to be exciting. It wasn't the sort of thrill she usually went for but it was definitely an experience for two people as involved with their work as Ruby and Blake were.

"So guys, are you ready? We are gonna have the best day ever." Ruby pumped a single fist into the air.

"Oh no, not again." Blake grabbed her and pulled her back to the shelf.

"Yeah, can't we just hang out and relax. We've gotta train tomorrow and everything. Plus we have that test coming up." Yang began to rattle off what she felt were reasons to take it easy and all Weiss heard was a list of reasons she should have gotten up early this morning.

"We need to study for that test Yang. Not spend all day playing video games." Weiss squeezed her hand with purpose.

"And who said anything about video games? Hmm?" Yang leaned over and bumped her shoulder against Weiss's. "I might have had other plans for you."

"No! No stop it you two." Ruby threw a pillow at them off the floor. "You got your time last night. Now it's Team Time."

"And what do you propose we do?" Weiss crossed her arms.

"We're going to the fields Weiss. To play a game." Blake smiled across the room at her. "And guess what the teams are?"

"Yes! Oh we're gonna trash you two." Yang slammed her elbow down in excitement, clenching her hand. "What's the game? What do me and Weiss get to win at?"

"No Yang, we're a team." Ruby pouted. "We gotta put girlfriends and partners on opposite teams."

"And we're playing frisbee." Blake smirked, confidence pouring out of here. A game based on agility and speed, of course she was confident she would win. Then of course, that meant Weiss would win too and she would not pass up the chance to beat Yang at something and hold it over her.

"That sounds agreeable." Weiss finally uncrossed her arms and laid them out on her legs, the picture of elegance and grace as she always strove to be. "How do you win at Frisbee?"

"You have to get the frisbee to the other side of the field. But you can't run with it, only throw it." Ruby was a bundle of excitement and looked like she might fly out the window in a flurry of rose petals at the drop of a hat. "No tackling or anything either, but you can block." Blake leaned down and grabbed the frisbee from under her bed. "Usually you play with more people but I think it'll be okay. Plus, we can use our semblances too."

"What?" Yang whined, "That's no fair. What am I supposed to do? Melt the frisbee so they can't score."

"Oh relax," Weiss slapped at Yang's shoulder, "You have Ruby. Her semblance will more than make up for your inadequacy." Yang's eyes flew open in surprise.

"Are you trash talking me?" She asked incredulously, "Are you getting competitive Weiss?"

"No, no. Competition implies there's a chance the other side might win." Weiss turned her head away with a humpf, "There's no chance of that here. Blake and I's victory is assured.

"Yay Team Time!" Ruby shouted excitedly and then did just as Weiss had feared. She grabbed the frisbee from Blake and jumped out the window, riding a stream of rose petals to the ground far below.

"She's been pretty excited for this all morning if you hadn't noticed." Blake sighed and heaved herself up off the shelf and headed for the door.

"Yeah apparently," Yang chuckled and grabbed Zwei's leash. "We'll tie him to a tree out there so he isn't locked up all day." She said when Blake gave her a questioning look.

"Alright, just keep him away from me while we walk." Blake hurried out the door and down the hall, putting distance between herself and the most adorable creature ever while trying to catch up with her overzealous other half.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." Yang quipped from the floor where she was attaching the leash to Zwei's collar.

"Oh don't you go and do that." Weiss chided, "I'm not going to show any mercy." Yang lifted herself from the floor, dog leash in one hand and Weiss's hand in the other.

"Come on, they aren't gonna wait forever."

* * *

The afternoon sun was reasonably cool and a light breeze was blowing over Beacon. It was pretty much the best weather Weiss could imagine for something like playing outside. She hadn't participated in many sports outside of being a Huntress. What physical activity could be more demanding or skill based? There were none so she had never seen fit to waste her time with them. But if the purpose was recreation and proving she was better than Yang. Well, that she could spare some time for. It was her leader's orders after all.

Yang tied Zwei's leash to a small tree on the field and Weiss bent down to scratch his ears. He nuzzled affectionately against her hand and for a second Weiss considered calling off the match in favor of cuddling the little furball in the shade of this tree. But, she had a point to prove to Yang so she steeled herself and stood from the dog.

"Okay, okay." Ruby dashed over as she stepped away to join Yang and Blake as close as Blake was willing to stand. "Are you guys ready? Do I need to do the rules again?"

"I have them down perfectly well. Perhaps Yang needs them explained though." Weiss glanced playfully at her girlfriend. "I know she needs help with these things sometimes."

"Okay Princess." Yang laughed, "I get it. We're making a grudge match out of this." Yang popped her knuckles on both hands by pushing her fists against each other and rolled her neck in a circle, causing it to pop in several places. "Alright then, let's go."

"Blake, heads or tails?" Ruby tossed the frisbee in the air like an oversized coin.

"Er… heads." Blake sounded incredibly unconvincing as the disc landed bottom up.

"You guys kick off first." Ruby tore off to the other end of the field without waiting for a response, rose petals settling to the ground behind her.

"Just try not to hit anyone with it." Yang winked and trotted off after her sister.

"Well, I suppose that was fairly luck based but still couldn't you have given us the upper hand here Blake?" Weiss leaned to retrieve the disc from the ground and handed it to Blake.

"I'm sorry, next time I will try to predict the coin toss more accurately," Blake smirked and took the toy happily.

"That's really all I'm asking. Now don't mess up this throw too." Weiss crouched, ready to run as soon as Blake threw it.

Blake curled back her arm, twisting her whole body to bundle up strength. She spun and released the plastic frisbee sending it sailing in a nearly perfect line down the center of the field over Yang and Ruby's heads to skitter to a stop on the sidewalk that marked the scoring zone.

Weiss lunged down the field as soon as it was released, throwing a glyph beneath herself and Blake to carry them to the other side. She saw a blur of red at the other end of the field as Ruby retrieved the frisbee. She made a short toss to Yang and hesitated, waiting for her sister to catch it.

"Cover Yang, I'll follow Ruby." Weiss shouted and angled off to guard her partner from any incoming pass.

Yang caught the frisbee easily and turned on one foot, she heaved it down at the empty end of the field. Weis turned her attention back towards Ruby just in time to see her go sprinting past her the other direction. She tapped the ground about halfway down the field and leapt into the air, capturing the frisbee mid flight and falling back to a throw ready stance.

That was definitely a planned move. The sisters were conning them, they had played this together before.

Weiss skidded to a halt, her heels digging into the soft turf. She reversed her momentum and ran the other direction. Blake was trailing after Yang as they made their way to Ruby and towards the opposite scoring area where Blake and Weiss had started.

At least they had already used their secret plan to travel most of the field. Now they would have to wait for Yang to catch up and she wasn't as fast as Blake. That would serve as a good mismatch in Weiss and Blake's favor.

Then Ruby did something completely unexpected. She threw frisbee farther towards the goal, without waiting for Yang to catch up. What was she doing? The disc flew high into the air and seemed to hover there before slowly floating down to the ground, just on the other side of the sidewalk.

Ruby ran after it, crossed the sidewalk, and waited for it to land softly in her outstretched hands.

"Point!" She yelled out, dancing in a little circle with the disc held high.

"Hey," Weiss pouted, "That cannot be legal. Passing it to yourself." Weiss stopped running and crossed her arms.

"Well I mean, it isn't against the normal rules." Yang laughed. "Most people just aren't fast enough to catch their own pass." She stuck her tongue out at Weiss and stopped running over by her sister. Blake trotted back over to join Weiss at the other side so they could start another round.

"That didn't go well at all." Weiss mumbled as she returned to her side.

"I thought you had Ruby covered?" Blake shot playfully at Weiss. "She caught more passes than Yang even threw." Blake laughed and Weiss found herself smirking despite her irksome teammate.

"You have been spending too much time with Ruby. Her good humor is rubbing off on you." Weiss turned back to face the sisters and prepared for the next throw. "We have to score Blake."

"Oh we will. Don't you worry." Blake crouched low and waited for the toss.

Yang heaved the disc and Blake jumped straight up into the air. She pushed a shadow clone out behind her, lurching into the frisbee's path and caught before it could make it past them. Weiss caught herself staring at the brilliant maneuver and launched herself forward on a glyph. Blake threw the frisbee to her as soon as she had landed and sprinted off after her.

Weiss watched the disc sail towards her and outstretched her hands. She caught the disc and skidded to a halt, searching out Blake on the field. Yang was barreling towards the heiress and she distinctly remembered Ruby saying something about no tackling. She did her best to ignore the blonde and found Blake sprinting away. Weiss whistled and threw the frisbee out ahead of her teammate, hoping she would see it coming.

She threw a black glyph at Yang's feet to hold her in place and ran off down the field, opting to hold Yang down instead of speeding herself along. As she ran by the immobile brawler she stuck her tongue out and giggled. This really was quite fun to play together.

Blake captured the pass and ducked. Ruby went sailing over her after lunging out to try and catch the frisbee before Blake could. Weiss shut off the glyph holding Yang down and put it under Ruby instead. She slowed to a walk, smiled at Blake and crossed the goal line easily. Blake tossed the frisbee to her gently and she caught it with ease.

"Point." Weiss said as sweetly as possible and laid the frisbee on the ground at her feet.

"Awww come on. So not fair." Ruby pouted and Weiss dropped that glyph as well.

"Well Ruby, it isn't technically against the rules is it." Blake laughed and came to Weiss's side.

The game continued as such, a veritable shoot out, with neither pair being able to prevent the other from scoring. The points soared until it was nineteen to nineteen, with only two goals separating either team from victory.

"We need to stop them from scoring if we want to win." Blake panted at Weiss's side. The game wasn't particularly strenuous but they had all been using their semblances quite extensively, except for Yang, and it was starting to take its toll.

"And how do suggest we do that?" Weiss asked, standing tall and watching the two sisters joke and play with each other, giving everyone a short breather before they started the next round.

"Well, do you think you could use one of those golden glyphs on me?" Blake looked over mischievously. "The one you gave Pyrrha that let her fight Yang and Nora."

"I think I could manage that." Weiss rolled her shoulders confidently. "You have to make it count though. I can probably only do it once." Blake nodded that she understood and they looked back across at their opponents.

"Whenever you're ready." Blake hollered down the field. Yang waved back and they prepared to throw the frisbee. Weiss summoned the glyph, pooling what energy she could spare at Blake's feet. Blake threw the frisbee hard, sending it flying across the grass.

Yang laced her fingers together, Ruby put one foot in the cradle she had created and Yang launched her into the air. She pulled a tight flip as she interrupted the frisbee's flight. She caught it and landed right where Yang had been standing, the blonde having run down the field towards their second to last point. Weiss released the energy, filling Blake with as much of her own power as she could.

Ruby threw frisbee just as Blake tore at Yang. She was so incredibly fast with Weiss's power up. They needed to remember this technique for actual combat.

Blake charged straight at Yang, then dropped a shadow clone and rolled off to the side. She came to her feet and circled around Yang, leaving a series of shadow clones until Yang was surrounded by a dozen copies of Blake, all sticking out their tongue at her.

Ruby threw the frisbee and Weiss took a chance. Yang had stopped, momentarily distracted by the grinning Blake's all around her. So, Weiss dropped the enhancement glyph and dropped one at Yang's feet to root her down.

Blake stumbled as the energy left her body and she returned to normal speed but Weiss had been prepared for that. She lurched forward, breaking into a sprint, waving for Blake to keep running. Blake turned and ran without asking any questions, she had to, there was no time.

Weiss grinned and ran past Yang as the clones dissipated. Just as the last one started to fade away, Weiss jumped, planted her foot on Yang's shoulder and propelled herself off her girlfriend and into the path of Ruby's pass. She caught the disc, landed and threw it towards Blake.

They had actually intercepted a pass. This meant there was a chance. If they could outscore them by even one point, they could win. Weiss saw Ruby between her and Blake and swung her arm hard, as if to pass, but didn't release the throw. Ruby jumped straight into the air, intending to re-intercept them. Weiss grinned and threw the pass just as Ruby hit the top of her jump. She might be able to leap, but she couldn't fly.

The pass flew easily over Ruby as she fell back towards the ground. Blake caught it on the other side and waited for Weiss to cross the goal line so they could score. Weiss ran as fast as she could, releasing the glyph on Yang to conserve energy. Ruby landed and ran towards the goal as well but it was hopeless, there was no way Weiss could outrun Ruby, even if she used another glyph. So instead she stopped.

"Blake pass." she shouted, holding her arms out for the throw. Blake cocked her head to side in confusion and then threw the disc, only hesitating for a second. The pass fell easily into Weiss's hand and Blake ran towards the goalline.

Ruby caught up to Blake just as she crossed over and jumped in front to guard her. Blake dodged this way and Ruby followed, leapt that way and Ruby followed. She was stuck to her like glue and Yang was catching up. They couldn't waste this opportunity to finally pull ahead.

Blake skidded to a stop and tapped Ruby on the shoulder. The younger girl twisted her head to face her and Blake put a soft kiss right on her cheek. It caught Ruby so off guard that she blushed and froze in place. Blake pushed a shadow clone out behind her and moved off to Ruby's side. Weiss threw the frisbee right at her and she caught it.

"Point." Blake said quietly and Ruby crossed her arms.

"That was mean." Ruby moaned.

"I'm sorry Ruby. I didn't know you didn't like my kisses." Blake turned away slightly.

"No, no, no." Ruby dashed over and threw her arms around Blake, "I love your kisses." Ruby peppered Blake's face with affection.

"What was that about showing affection in public?" Weiss asked playfully as she approached. Ruby froze up again and stopped.

"Ohh...uhh…." She released Blake and stared at the ground, "I'm sorry Weiss. I just kinda did it. I wasn't really thinking."

"That's fine Ruby," Weiss laughed, "I was just kidding."

"Oh, I uhh I didn't know you did that." Ruby snickered a little and swept her arms back around Blake.

"Whuh? Of course I do. I am a very-" Weiss was at a loss for words. She made jokes all the time. How dare Ruby say that.

"That just means I get to do this." Yang snuck up behind Weiss and pulled her into a tight hug. She placed a soft kiss right at the base of Weiss's neck and buried her face into her shoulder. Weiss pushed into the kiss and snuggled her head against Yang's.

"So uhh… we have a game to finish don't we?" Ruby asked, she and Blake with their arm's around each other still

"Yeah I guess we do." Blake said softly, never taking her eyes from Ruby.

"Or we could just go back to the dorm." Yang left her head against Weiss, mumbling against her neck. The soft vibrations from her voice sent a rather pleasant shiver down Weiss's spine.

"But, Blake and I are about to win." Weiss complained. They had just completed the only successful defensive play of the game and turned it into a point.

"Is winning really that important?" Yang asked, kissing Weiss softly again. She knew just the right spot and Weiss had to suppress a small hum of pleasure. How did Yang know her so well?

"I suppose not." Weiss's mind fogged over just a little with memories of their previous night together and the potential for anything even close to that happening again. "Perhaps we could postpone the end of the match?"

"And call it a tie for now?" Ruby asked, tucking her head against Blake's neck.

"That would be okay." Blake said, nuzzling Ruby's head with her own.

"I find it, agreeable." Weiss finally spun in Yang's arms and pulled Yang down into a hard kiss on the lips. Both Yang and Ruby sprung away from their girlfriends however and high fived.

"Yes, tie game." Ruby shouted.

"What?" Weiss screamed, "Was that… Did you just play us?" Blake looked befuddled.

"Um, well yeah." Ruby toed the ground with her boot. "I mean if Blake was allowed to kiss me…."

"It's not technically against the rules Weiss." Yang leaned down and kissed her again. Weiss wanted to be mad, really she did. It was just so… hard.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Alright, there it is. Chapter 48 and just two more to go.
> 
> I start back to University this Thursday and will be finishing the story that day as well. I'm going to give myself the weekend to fall back into schoolwork and then begin publishing my next piece on Tuesday. I also think that I will be switching to a twice a week schedule for publishing that story on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I'll use the weekends to post to other stories like "Just Across the Hall" and some other one shots.
> 
> I think that's the plan anyways. It may change.
> 
> Hope you liked the chapter and the incredibly silly game at the end. It was really very fun to write with Weiss. Especially, dirty, embarrassed Weiss. So naughty.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -Zach


	49. Finding Their Groove

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Blake checked her appearance in the window again. Her bow was neat and tidy on her ears, plenty tight enough that it wouldn't come off but loose enough that it didn't hurt her ears overly much. It was always uncomfortable to wear, but so were socks and shoes, or bras. Wearing her bow was just another one of those things that she had to deal with every day.

"You look fine." Yang didn't even bother lifting her eyes from her scroll. "Stop fretting and just enjoy it." She was lying on Weiss's bed, feet up over the edge of the frame, utterly relaxed.

"Yang, leave her alone." Weiss chided. "It's not your job to tell her what to do before a date. I'm sure she's very nervous." Weiss was sitting at one of the large wooden desks, studying away as always.

"Oh come on. They've been going out for like two weeks now." Yang dropped her scroll to the bed and rolled over to face Weiss. "Why is she still so nervous for a normal date?"

"Just because they've been dating for a little while doesn't mean she can stop being nervous. It's important to keep trying and never get lazy." Weiss spun her chair around to look at Yang, "Blake is just trying to be a considerate girlfriend to your little sister."

"Yeah, but just because she's still trying doesn't mean she has to freak out." Yang sat up on the bed, "Look, she replaced the flowers for her without even telling her, still opens doors and pulls out her chair and stuff. Blake is doing great and the last thing she ever needs to worry about is her appearance."

"Well, I think that-" Weiss lifted her pencil like a baton

"Hey, uhh I actually just wanna make sure she thinks I look cute." Blake said softly, "I like when she compliments me so I wanted to make sure I looked the way she likes." Blake looked at the floor and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Oh well…." Yang's shoulders slumped and she dropped her aggressive attitude. "I'm sure she'll think you're cute Blake. She always does."

"Yes," Weiss coughed to clear her throat, "I know Ruby really does like you Blake. Though she appreciates seeing your ears."

"I know," Blake reached a tentative hand up to her head and stroked the bow, "I just...I'm fine with her seeing them and even err...touching them. I don't want to wear them out there though." Blake motioned with her head towards their picture window and the city of Vale.

"Whoah Blake slow down there." Yang laughed, "Don't go letting my sister touch things now." Yang lifted herself up off the bed and walked over to Weiss. She put one arm over the heiress's shoulders and pulled her rolling chair over to her. Weiss crossed her arms as she was drug across the floor and let herself be smashed up against Yang's stomach.

"It's not like that." Blake blushed and looked away from them. "My ears aren't sexual or anything." Blake turned back to face them. "It's just that I've hidden them for so long, it's really hard to trust people with them. But Ruby," Blake paused and took a slow breath, "Ruby really likes them and she likes to pet them and never hurts them."

"Well then you should find sometime you two can have alone," Weiss pushed herself away from Yang enough that she could talk, "So she can scratch your ears and you can massage her back and the two of you can bond like that." Yang released Weiss as she continued to push, "What do you say we leave before they get back tonight Yang? Give them some alone time."

"I don't know," Yang grinned and glanced over at her partner who was simply blushing and staring at the ground. "That Blake is a wily one and Ruby is still new to this. I don't want anyone being taken advantage of."

"Yang!" Weiss smacked Yang's arm, "No one will be taking advantage of anyone, except perhaps you."

"Wait," Yang brought her finger to her chin in thought, "Are you taking advantage of me? Or am I taking advantage of you?" Weiss raised her fist and punched Yang in the stomach which only served to scoot her backwards across the carpet slightly, Yang's stomach not giving at all.

There was a light knock at the door and all their laughter stopped. That little knock meant Ruby was here and wanting to pick up Blake for their date. She and Blake had decided to switch off so that neither one of them felt the strain of making this situation work. They both agreed that the idea of being picked up for their dates was much more romantic and put an emphasis on which were dates as opposed to when they were just spending time together.

Blake spun frantically, using the large window as a very bad mirror to check herself again.

"You look great Blake." Yang said quietly, not wanting Ruby to overhear outside the door. Blake stopped spinning and looked down at herself. She was wearing a simple black, calf length gown with sheer shoulders and a purple shawl that Weiss told her was supposed to be draped through her elbows and across her back while she walked and kept in the coatroom at the restaurant while she ate.

Weiss had taken Ruby and her out separately to choose outfits for their evening together so neither of them had seen the other in their chosen dress yet. Blake was sure that Ruby looked absolutely stunning and she mostly trying to mentally prepare herself for how she would look. Of course, Blake was sure that Ruby would look stunning wearing nothing at all…. Or rather, wearing very simple clothing. She didn't even want to let her mind wander down that other path. That was a dangerous road and one she was sure they wouldn't be ready to tread for quite some time.

"Open the door for her already." Weiss snapped, "What are you going to do? Leave her waiting out there all night?" Blake jumped, snapped from her thoughts by Weiss's harsh tone. She was right though, her musings had left Ruby waiting and that was unacceptable behavior. Blake rushed over to the door and pulled it open, trying to appear rushed but not harried.

"Hi Ruby," She said as soon as she saw her. Then Blake stopped and her eyes went wide in surprise. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Ruby was standing there, small bouquet of flowers in hand and wearing the most stunning dress Blake thought she had ever seen. It was a sweeping red gown that reached nearly to the floor but was kept from dragging by the low heels that Ruby was wearing. The dress was a reverse of Ruby's hair, all a deep red with a smoky black trim that trailed along the bottom hem, ghosted around her sleeveless shoulders and played a suggestive little role as it toyed down through the modest neckline.

Blake was stunned to silence for a moment. She hadn't realized just how well clothes could bring out someone's real beauty. She knew it was there, saw it in little moments when Ruby wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and just being herself. But, there in front of her, it's like Ruby was on display just for her.

"You look amazing," Ruby said happily, jutting her hands forward with the small bouquet clutched between them. There wasn't a rose in sight. Every piece of the arrangement was some sort of wildflower. It was all lupins and lilies and a few bright tulips.

"Ruby," Blake gasped as she took the flowers from her girlfriend's outstretched hands. "You didn't have to do that." Blake tenderly accepted the gift, focusing on it instead of her date so that she might find her voice.

"I know, but I saw you replaced mine when they started to wilt and I really wanted to get you some too." Ruby's voice drew Blake's eyes back up and her mind went right back to being a muddled mess by just how gorgeous the other girl was. "I wanted it to be different though so I went to the forest and gathered some of my favorites and some that I thought you might like and then just some pretty ones until I had a bunch." Ruby giggled nervously. "I can get you a store bought one next time though. I know those last longer and stuff and-"

Blake lunged forward and hugged Ruby, wrapping her in a tight embrace but being careful not to topple her over as she knew how unsteady Ruby was in heels. She wrapped her arms around her but held the flowers out just a little, not wanting to hurt them as she showed her appreciation.

"No Ruby, they're perfect. Just like you." Blake whispered in her ear and Ruby eagerly returned the hug. After just a moment Blake stepped back and pulled her hands back to her chest, clutching the flowers like the precious treasure they were.

"Here Blake, I'll put them in water for you." Weiss stepped forward and offered to take the flowers from her. Blake hesitated, not wanting to give them up but eventually acquiesced as she couldn't exactly take them on the date with her.

"Thank you Weiss." Blake handed them off gingerly and was pleased to see that Weiss showed them just as much respect as she did. "And about your offer earlier..." She said as quietly as she could.

"Don't worry about it." Weiss turned on her heel and marched off towards the bathroom to give the flowers some water. Though, what she planned to put them in Blake had no idea, as Ruby was currently using their only vase shaped glass to hold the flowers Blake had given her. Blake figured that Weiss must have a plan and decided to trust her with it. She turned back to Ruby, not wanting to keep her eyes off her for too long.

"Ruby thank you so much." Blake stepped forward and took her hands in her own. "You look absolutely beautiful." She leaned forward and gave Ruby a small peck on the cheek. As she pulled back she saw a slight redness to Ruby's cheeks that she hadn't noticed before. Whether she was blushing or Weiss had convinced her to use blush Blake wasn't quite sure. Either way, the color in her cheeks made her absolutely radiant.

"We're gonna go now. " Ruby leaned into the room just barely and waved at Yang and Weiss still in the bathroom. "See ya later." She looked around quickly and found Zeri sleeping on the floor between the beds. "Bye Zwei." She whispered and gave him a little tiny wave farewell.

"Have a good night you two, be safe." Yang waved back and withheld any jokes or puns. She could probably see just how happy her partner and her sister were and didn't want to do anything to disturb that.

Ruby pulled Blake into the hallway by her hand, tugging her eagerly along until she was out of the room completely. Blake pulled the door behind her, shutting it with a rather solid thump behind her.

"Oh I'm so excited Blake." Ruby squeezed her hand hard, but not overly so. "I've never been somewhere all fancy like this." Blake looked down and saw just how bright Ruby's eyes were, how wide her smile. Seeing her this happy made Blake feel like she could take on an army, nothing could stop the two of them when they felt like this.

"And I've never had a date as wonderful as you." Blake returned the squeeze, "Thank you so much for this idea Ruby." Blake wanted to take Ruby and kiss her right there in the hallway but this wasn't the time nor place. Ruby wanted to go on their fancy date and be together like girlfriends. They could kiss when they got back, she was sure Ruby would want to.

They walked out together hand in hand, discussing their day since they had last seen each other at lunch and how their afternoon classes had gone. Ruby had opted to change with Team CFVY in their dorm room on the third floor as opposed to Team JNPR's room. She still felt a little awkward around Jaune and Pyrrha, especially doing something like getting ready for a date. Blake could understand that and she was just happy that Ruby had an alternate option.

"So only Coco and Velvet were there?" Blake asked as they headed towards the airship pad.

"Yeah, I told them I didn't mind if Fox and Yatsuhashi were there since I was gonna get dressed in the bathroom anyways. But they didn't wanna interrupt girl night and went to the gym instead." Ruby giggled and Blake melted a little. Her giggle was so cute.

"What was that like? Getting ready with Coco?" Blake wondered aloud. Coco was Beacon's resident fashion master and while she couldn't imagine her finding a single fault in Ruby's appearance tonight, she still thought it must have been quite the experience.

"Well she really liked the dress and I told her that Weiss helped me pick it out. She seemed kinda impressed by that, like she didn't think Weiss had good taste or something." Ruby pondered as she spoke, "Then she wanted to add feathers to my hair and do my makeup for me and everything but Velvet stopped her. She said that I needed to have a simple look and I just wanted to finish so I could come get you and Velvet's way seemed faster so we did that." Ruby paused in her explanation and glanced at Blake, "Does it really look okay?"

There was that bright red on her cheeks again. Blake had seen Ruby blush plenty of times and realized now that a lot of those were when she was trying to hide her feelings for her. But tonight, it seemed different somehow. Maybe Coco had snuck in a little of her own touch. If that was the case she would have to thank her later because every time Ruby looked at her like that she went just a little weak in the knees.

"You look wonderful Ruby." Blake squeezed her hand reassuringly, "Absolutely wonderful."

"Oh okay," Ruby's smile returned full force, "As long as you think so that's all I care about." Ruby leaned in and tucked her head against Blake's shoulder.

"Hey Ruby," Blake opened softly. This might be a sensitive subject and she wanted to broach it carefully, she was just too curious to wait any longer though. "How are you so good at walking in those heels? I thought they uhh… I thought they gave you a lot of trouble."

"Oh," Ruby looked down at her feet and giggled again. "I actually kinda maybe practiced." As if to emphasize the point, Ruby chose that moment to trip just slightly. Blake caught her, one arm at her waist and the other beneath her arm to support her.

"You didn't have to do that Ruby." Blake helped her find her feet again, "You could have worn flats. I know you'd be more comfortable in them."

"Well, Weiss told me I had to or the dress would drag." Ruby looked behind her at the flowing gown, "And anyways, if I didn't wear heels and you did, I don't think I could reach up high enough to kiss you."

"That just wouldn't do," Blake leaned down, putting her cheek directly in front of Ruby's face. "Is that okay?"

"Almost," Ruby said quietly. Blake was confused so she turned just slightly, facing Ruby, and felt a soft pair of lips press against her own. Warm and inviting, Blake leaned into the kiss, humming happily. She hadn't had to wait very long for her kiss.

"Ruby," Blake pulled away after a moment. "If you kiss me like that, I might want to just skip dinner altogether."

"Oh no, I don't wanna do that. Come on" Ruby grabbed her hand like she always did, ready to tear away at unbelievable speeds. But, much to Blake's humor, she set off at a perfectly tame pace, a little slow even.

"Still not great in the heels?" Blake tried to stifle her laughter but couldn't suppress all of it.

"Shush, they're stupid lady stilts!" Ruby forged on, refusing to turn and look Blake in the eye.

They covered the rest of the distance to the airships in no time at all, considering the fact that going anywhere with Ruby in heels usually took four or five times as long as walking there normally would. As it was it only took them a few minutes to reach the pad and they could see the ship pulling in just as they arrived. But Ruby kept looking around, as if that wasn't the right ship.

"What's wrong Ruby?" Blake pulled on her hand to get her attention. Ruby ignored her and pulled out her scroll.

"Oh wow, we're earlier than I thought we would be." Ruby slipped her scroll back into her small red purse and finally acknowledged Blake. "Our ride will be here in just a moment." Blake cokced her head off to the side just slightly in confusion but all she got from Ruby was a satisfied smirk.

It wasn't long at all before Blake saw the reason for Ruby's cryptic behavior. A small, sleek white airship zipped up along the cliff face and eased down onto the landing pad. The pilot even managed to land in such a manner, angling the turbo fans away from them, that they barely felt the wind. It was a landing very unlike the cacophonous arrival of the usual airships.

"Ruby? What's that?" Blake could clearly see the Schnee family crest emblazoned on the side of the ship. Even with her ears bound, boarding a Schnee airship wasn't going to be the most comfortable thing she'd ever done.

"It's our ride silly." Ruby pulled Blake towards the idling ship just as a small ramp extended from the side. There was no hiss of pressurized air or decompressive pop as the door opened. This ship was all about luxury and Blake could already feel herself changing her mind.

Inside the ship, it was unlike anything Blake had ever seen. The seats were nicer than anything she'd ever sat in, even nicer than the Professor's offices at Beacon. The interior was all white, almost like ice. It was glass and shining plastics. Every cushion was wrapped in a plush red fabric that Blake recognized from the interior of most of Weiss's outfits. Apparently the Schnee family had a very strict color scheme.

"Ruby….." Blake looked around the inside of the ship and marvelled at it. How much did something like cost?

"It's okay, it's okay." Ruby used both hands to motion for Blake to calm down. "It was my idea to get a private ship and I was gonna pay for one of those services but then Weiss said we could just use hers." Ruby stepped close to Blake's side and whispered in her ear. "The pilots think we're meeting Weiss and Yang there." She stepped away again and spoke at her usual, overly loud volume, "They can even drop us off right at the restaurant so we don't have to walk. They have this special permit that lets them land on the roof."

"I can't even-" Blake snapped her mouth shut and turned to face Ruby. "Why don't we use this all the time if Weiss just has it?"

"Oh," Ruby laughed, "Well we can't really. She's not supposed to use it except for like really important stuff." Her and Yang's one month anniversary is close so that's what this is for." Blake's jaw dropped.

"We can't take that from them. They should get to use it for that." Blake didn't want them being treated like this. They didn't need it.

"It's okay, it's okay I told you. She offered." Ruby grabbed Blake's hands. "Plus Yang doesn't like this kind of thing and Weiss is so used to it it isn't even special to her anymore." Ruby placed a soft kiss on Blake's cheek. "I just wanted tonight to be really special. I'm sorry if you don't like it. We can ride the normal ship back."

"No Ruby, it's not that." Blake leaned into the kiss and wished it didn't have to stop. "It's just. I don't want you to have to try this hard for me."

"I want to though Blake." Ruby leaned against her, "I want to make everything we do special in some way."

"It's always special if I'm with you Ruby." Blake kissed the top of her head. "But thank you, this is really nice." Blake pulled Ruby over onto a long red couch stretched against the edge of the ship. She looked over and saw that the door had closed without her noticing.

"We will be departing shortly, please take your seats and enjoy the ride," the captain's voice came across the incredibly smooth microphone, not a hint of static even to Blake's ears.

Ruby threw herself down at Blake's side and snuggled up against her.

"Plus this way, we can maybe cuddle on the way there." Ruby's cheek were incredibly red and Blake knew that even if she was wearing make-up, she was definitely blushing as well.

"Yeah," Blake leaned down close to her girlfriend, "I mean, unless Weiss has cameras in here…" Blake looked around the cabin suspiciously, but also playfully. Ruby jerked away from Blake and glanced around, looking as well.

The ride didn't take long and between playfully looking for Schnee Spy Cameras and more than a little snuggling they were there in no time. It was definitely a more comfortable airship ride than Blake could remember having been on in a long time.

Ruby stumbled out the door and into the fresh evening air. Blake tagged along behind, giggling as Ruby spun in a circle on the roof. She was having so much fun and they had barely even arrived at the restaurant.

The airship departed and a hostess came to greet them.

"Ms. Rose, Ms. Belladonna. I'm so glad you were able to join us tonight. Can I show you to your table?" The hostess bowed her head just slightly and stepped to the side, indicating a well lit staircase with her outstretched arm. Blake and Ruby both giggled furiously at the luxury treatment and moved towards the staircase.

Once inside a man greeted them and took Blake's shawl to be stored in the coatroom until they were finished, just as Weiss had said they would. The hostess from the roof escorted them through the dimly lit restaurant to a table in the back corner. It was small and lit only by a single candle along with various ambient lights slung about the room. Blake could see perfectly fine but she knew that it was made darker so you never felt like others were watching you. This was a restaurant designed for romantic dates such as theirs, just usually for people with a bit more money.

They took their seats, trying to retain their calm and waited until the hostess had left to dissolve in squeals of delight. They tried to keep their voices down btu Blake at least could hear patrons around them murmuring about their behavior. Not that she cared at this point. This date was greater than she could possibly have dared hope.

"Ruby this is amazing. I didn't even realize places like this actually existed." Blake said in a rushed whisper.

"Neither did I." Ruby said, somehow shouting and whispering at the same time. "I mean, Weiss told me it was fancy but oh my Oum this is awesome."

"So what should we get?" Blake looked over the menu. It was all traditional Atlesian food and the names were the type of thing that if she found them in a book she would have to look up.

"I don't know…" Ruby whined quietly, "There aren't any pictures. I don't know what any of this is." Together they spent a few moments scanning the menu and trying to find something that sounded, not good, but familiar at least. It wasn't that anything sounded bad, they just had no idea what any of it was.

"Okay well Atlas has a big fishing industry right?" Blake looked hopefully at Ruby. "We could just order the catch of the day. Places like this usually have a particular fish they are serving that's fresh." Blake really wasn't trying to just convince Ruby to order the fish. She just honestly couldn't think of anything else that they could be sure of. "Other than that it should prepared fairly normally."

"That works yeah," Ruby lifted her face from the confines of her menu with a mischievous smile, "Plus I know fish is your favorite." Ruby winked at her and folded up the menu just as their waiter arrived.

"Good evening ladies." He greeted them as he placed a small bowl of sliced bread on the table, "I hope you don't mind but I've brought some of the house wine here for you to try." He laid two crystal wine glasses on the table and poured just a splash of the wine into one, but Ruby stopped him before he could continue to the second one.

"I'm okay," she waved it away, "Thank you though." Ruby shot a furtive glance over at Blake and she had to fight to keep her giggles down. She knew they were both to young to be drinking but Ruby was far too young. Blake would be okay with just a sip.

"Of course." the waiter whipped the bottle back up and retrieved the glass.

Blake lifted the glass slowly and the strong smell hit her long before it was anywhere near her face. The alcohol smell was clear, as well as the strong grape scent and a sharp twist that she couldn't quite identify. She swirled the liquid slowly because she had read somewhere that she was supposed to do that. The smell was a little stronger as she agitated the drink and she realized that must be so non-Faunus could smell it properly.

There was nothing left to do but try it so she lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip, barely letting any of the dark liquid into her mouth. It was strong, that much was certain. Fairly bitter but with a sweetness that she enjoyed. The taste lingered in her mouth after she swallowed and she let out a little noise of contentment. It had been rather tasty.

"We grow the grapes for the wine all the way in Atlas where the colder temperatures make for a much finer flavor." The man flourished the bottle about, showing them the name and label which Blake was certain they were supposed to recognize.

"Well I think we will go without tonight. But thank you." Blake nodded and the man retreated a half step, pulling the bottle out of their faces.

"Of course. What can I bring you to drink then?" Ruby and Blake glanced at each other and then back at the man.

"Water please." They said in unison. The man nodded his head and pulled back towards the kitchen.

"Well that was nerve racking." Blake laughed, letting go of some of her tension. "I didn't a waiter could be that intense."

"Yeah," Ruby giggled as well, "I kinda wanted to ask for milk but I thought he might look at me funny or something."

"Milk with fish?" Blake screwed up her face a little in disgust. She couldn't think of a stranger combination.

"Yeah, milk goes with everything." Ruby stuck out her tongue at Blake with a smile. Blake took a moment to appreciate her girlfriend again. The way she could sit there in a dress that surely cost several hundred Lien and stick out her tongue and want a glass of milk and just be so Ruby all the time.

Blake reached her hand across the table and grasped Ruby's. Ruby opened her eyes and sucked her tongue back into her face. She smiled and rolled her hand over in Blake's so they could lace their fingers together.

It wasn't long before the waiter returned with their waters and took their order. The catch of the day was like a blessing to Blake's ear. Salmon. She had no idea how the fishing industry worked or where this salmon might be coming from, but if it lived up to the rest of the establishment then it very well could be the best meal of her life.

A few minutes of quiet conversation and very pleasant hand holding later saw the two neatly cut filets arrive at their table. Blake smelt it long before it left the kitchen. The meat was seasoned with light herbs and a lemon sauce that dripped like butter across the even lines in the fish's flesh. The salmon itself was a deep orange color, almost completely free of the thick white lines of fat that indicated farm growth. These were wild salmon and all the more delicious for it.

Aside from the main course they had a small rice pilaf and some roasted vegetables. All in all, the meal looked absolutely delicious.

"Oh Blake, I kinda get it now." Ruby said as she lifted the first bite in front of her, "This looks amazing." Ruby smiled and took the bite into her mouth humming with pleasure almost as soon as it hit her tongue.

Blake didn't hesitate to follow suit. The fish was simply divine and it was all she could do to stop herself from picking it up with both hands and tearing in. Instead she used her fork and knife as fast as she could, splitting the fish into bite size pieces and consuming them at a rate she was sure would put Yang to shame.

The only that stopped Blake was occasionally glancing up to make sure her date was enjoying her meal as well. Although Ruby didn't seem to be attacking it quite the same way as Blake, which was expected, she did look like she was enjoying it. She was even eating the roast veggies without complaining which was rare for the younger girl.

They finished their food without conversation, the only noises coming from their table being the little moans of pleasure with each bite and the occasional praise of the meal. Blake saved the veggies and rice for last, wanting to eat the fish uninterrupted. Even she had to admit though, the other food on her plate was delicious as well. A perfect compliment to the luscious salmon filet.

"Oum that was good." Blake scooped the last bit of rice off her plate.

"I think we picked right." Ruby set her utensils down and leaned back against her chair, apparently satisfied.

"Definitely." Blake sat up as their waiter approached.

"How was your meal?" He asked as he reached the table.

"Delicious." Ruby chimed happily, "Worth every cent."

"Actually, as far as the bill is concerned." The man folded his hands behind his back and Blake felt a cold weight in her gut. She hadn't even considered the bill. How could she expect Ruby to pay for something like this? When they went out before she had just taken Ruby to a movie and bought popcorn. But Ruby just treated her to an amazing fancy dinner, and the airship ride here, and everything. "It's been covered by the Schnee Dust Company" The man smiled at their shocked faces. "Your pilot came down just after you landed and let us know that all of your expenses were to be billed to their account."

"Oh…." Ruby sounded a little flat, "Okay thank you." Blake glanced at her and back at their waiter.

"Could you show us back to our ship sir?" She stood swiftly and offered her hand to Ruby.

"Of course." The man leaned over with a flourish and indicated the way with an outstretched arm just as the hostess had done earlier. Ruby took Blake's hand and together they climbed back to the ship, grabbing Blake's shawl on the way.

The first half of the flight back to Beacon was quiet. Ruby held Blake's hand but stared absently out the window until Blake broke her out of it with a small kiss.

"You know she just wanted to make sure we didn't have to worry about it right?" Blake asked. She knew that Weiss had overstepped her bounds a little here but she didn't want it to ruin Ruby's night. Not when they had been having such a nice time.

"Yeah," Ruby turned from the window and faced Blake, "I just wanted to take you out. Not let Weiss pay for us again."

"But you did take me out Ruby." Blake scooted closer to her and slid her arm around her shoulder, comfortingly. "Look at all the thought and effort you put into this." she gestured around the ship. "You even learned how to walk in heels for me."

"Yeah," Ruby laughed quietly, "That was kinda hard." Blake laid another soft kiss at Ruby's temple.

"I loved this evening Ruby." Blake pulled Ruby's chin gently towards her, "I had a wonderful time with you." She kissed Ruby on the lips, holding her close.

They parted and Ruby let out a tiny gasp. Her face was flushed again and Blake hoped it was because of the kiss.

"As long as you had fun Blake." Ruby kissed her on the cheek, just to the side of her lips.

"Now I think I have a surprise for _you_. It's back in the dorm." Blake smirked at Ruby and pulled away. She wanted anything they did tonight to happen in the comfort of their own room, not in Weiss's airship.

The landing was soft, softer than they usually got that was for sure. An attendant greeted them at the bottom of the stairs and thanked them for flying with them before returning to the pilot's cabin of the ship. Blake and Ruby were a fair distance away before the ship took off, ensuring that their dresses were not ruffled by the gusts of takeoff.

Hand in hand the couple returned to the dorm. Blake could tell Ruby was excited for what she had in store and she just hoped that a few hours alone together wasn't a let down. As long as Ruby wasn't expecting a big basket full of cookies or something they should be fine though.

The dorms were quiet, not a single student wandering the halls. JNPR's door was closed and even Blake's hearing couldn't pick anything up from behind their doors. Hopefully that meant they were out or asleep. She didn't want anything to disturb them tonight.

Blake wasn't looking to do anything too adventurous tonight. She just wanted Ruby to feel comfortable if they did do anything. As it was, they had never even had the opportunity to do much more than kiss once or twice. They didn't get to kiss goodnight or cuddle each other to sleep save that one time after the book signing. It had been two weeks now. Blake felt like, if the situation was right and Ruby wanted to, that they were ready to maybe make out or even just kiss for more than a few seconds.

She opened the door and let Ruby inside. To her credit, the younger girl didn't look all around the room to try and find anything, she didn't search frantically or turn around dissapointed.

"Yang and Weiss are gone?" She asked innocently, turning slowly to face Blake.

"Yes, they offered to give us some time alone. Just like we did for them." Blake closed the door softly and was happy to notice that they had taken Zwei again as well.

"Oh," Ruby glanced up and saw the heat on Blake's cheeks. "Ohh.." she repeated with a little more understanding.

"I know you get really nervous about things in front of people Ruby. So I wanted us to have some time just the two of us." Blake stepped forward and offered her hands to Ruby. "I don't even care what we do. I just want to spend time with you."

"Well…." Ruby stepped forward slowly and took Blake's hands. "We do have the room to ourselves. We could maybe, kiss a little bit?" She asked shyly, never taking her eyes off the ground.

"Only if that's really what you want Ruby." Blake stepped out of her heels and Ruby followed suit before replying.

"Yeah Blake. It is." Ruby leaned up and kissed Blake. Their hands slid apart, Ruby's snaking around Blake's waist and Blake's hands falling over Ruby's shoulders. Blake tilted her head off to the side just slightly and opened her mouth, an invitation for Ruby to deepen the kiss and move at her own speed.

For the first time, Blake felt Ruby's tongue slide smoothly into her mouth. The fact that Ruby was willing to do this with her was more important than that she actually did it. But, Ruby was quite a good kisser as well. She pulled on Blake a little and they bumped together.

Her small hands wrapped around Blake's waist were a peculiar feeling. Blake hadn't thought about the size difference before but it was evident now with how much she was having to lean over to kiss Ruby properly. She pulled away.

"Is something wrong?" Ruby asked as Blake broke the kiss.

"Nothing at all Ruby." Blake pulled her over to sit on the edge of her bed. Ruby followed along easily, sitting at her side. "I just wanted to say something."

"Am I a bad kisser? I'm so sorry." Ruby looked at her lap fitfully, "I haven't had practice really and I don't even know what to do."

"No, no Ruby that's not it." Blake put her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "You're er-" Blake's voice caught in her throat and she felt heat rush to her cheeks. "You're actually a really good kisser."

"Really?" Ruby's face flushed with relief, "I was worried because I really liked it and I thought it's just because you were a good kisser and I wasn't and-" Blake pressed a single finger to Ruby's lips to silence her.

"Ruby shhh." Blake silenced her softly. "I should have said this earlier but I was really worried about saying it and I don't know. While we were kissing I just realized I should- No, that I need to say this."

"What is it Blake?" Blake could see the worry in Ruby's eyes. Of course she was worried, that was the worst lead in ever.

"I-" Blake choked and had to stop. She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I know we've only been dating for a few weeks. I know that we're still just having a lot of fun and stuff. But Ruby, I've known you for so much longer than that, I've been interested in you for so much longer than that. And Ruby." Blake lifted a hand to Ruby's cheek and rubbed her thumb across her cheekbone, "I love you Ruby."

"Blake-" Ruby voice broke and tears pooled in her eyes, "Oh Blake, I love you too." Ruby lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Blake. It was like a dust grenade went off in Blake's chest, the warmth spreading through her like fire. She could feel it in every part of her as soon as those words left Ruby's mouth. She loved her too. Blake was so taken aback she didn't even return the hug, but she didn't have to.

Ruby pulled back and tackled Blake to the bed with a kiss, pressing her shoulders down into the mattress. She sat up and let some of the pressure off of Blake.

"So… Does that mean we can kiss..uhh… like before?" Ruby's face was bright red.

"Of course Ruby." Blake grabbed Ruby's head and pulled her back down to her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Alright, that was the penultimate chapter in terms of numbers, but in terms of storyline that was pretty much the end. Chapter 50 is really more of a wrap up scene with everyone coming together as a big group.
> 
> I teared up a little writing that final section and again now editing it before this note. I don't know if it's finally coming to the end of this story or if it was the emotion in the scene. It was probably just because I'm a big sap and need to stop writing at two in the morning.
> 
> I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this story. I have other plans for FanFiction but now that this is out there I'll be relaxing a little. This story was the one I really wanted to tell and it was the fire that kep me writing at 4 chapters a week. I'm definitely going to keep writing and publishing regularly, but nothing like what you've seen from me up to this point.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and following along with this story. You are all really the greatest readers I could have asked for.
> 
> -Zach


	50. Together Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

An errant breeze blew Ruby's hood up from behind her, causing it to flap in her face. She swatted at it with her hand to make it behave. That darn thing was really acting up lately. She cinched the pull string a little tighter around her neck to hopefully keep the garment in check and the grabbed Blake's hand.

Her hands were always so warm, well all of her was, but Ruby couldn't exactly curl up in her lap right now. Not when they were out with their friends. Ruby glanced around the table at all the smiling faces around her. Yang and Weiss were at her side, bickering about the possible benefits and detriments of eating pizza every day.

Yang was convinced that because pizza has tomato sauce and you can get veggies on it and different kinds of meat, that it must be healthy to eat. Weiss was going back and forth between struggling to explain to her why it wasn't and growing overly frustrated and just calling her an oaf with her arms crossed.

Next to them were Jaune and Pyrrha. They had calmed down since they had been dating for a little while. Most of the kissing in public had vanished and they even managed to keep the sweet nothings to a minimum when others were around, perhaps Ren had talked with them about it. Either way, now that Ruby and Blake were steady and Jaune didn't seem like he was flaunting his new relationship anymore, Ruby could be happy for them. Pyrrha seemed happier than she had ever been, always smiling and laughing. Jaune was more confident and even dealt with their teasing a little better now.

The next two spots at their round table were empty because-

"Pizza's HERE." Nora shouted as she and Ren returned from inside the store with four pizzas held high. They were back at _The Valed Oven_ at Ren and Nora's suggestion. They said something about everyone being _together_ together and wanting to Teams JNPR and RWBY were gathered at Vale's best pizza place enjoying each other's company

Nora spun the two pizzas in her hands down with practiced ease and dashed back into the restaurant for plates. Ren eased his two pizzas down at their side of the table. He slipped in next to Pyrrha and passed out napkins from inside the store. The seating area was on the sidewalk and exposed to passersby so they didn't leave anything out where it could be stolen, not even napkin dispensers.

Nora returned with a stack of paper plates and literally just threw them out into the group like confetti.

"Plates!" she screamed as they came drifting down to everyone. "Hooray."

"Nora, could I have a plate please." Ren asked calmly from her side.

"Oh yeah of course Renny." Nora scooped an upside down plate up off the table and offered it to him with both hands.

"Thank you," He smiled kindly and scooped two pieces of pizza onto the paper plate. Ren passed the plate to Pyrrha and requested another plate from Nora. They continued the process until everyone had plates filled with pizza and Nora's overly rambunctious moment had been corrected for.

"Everyone, before we eat. I wanted to say something." Ren spoke a little loudly, louder than they had ever heard him speak outside of combat. "When Nora and I started at Beacon. We only had each other. We've only had each other for a long time. But, now, we really feel like we have a family in all of you." Nora calmed down and grabbed Ren's hand on top of the table. "The fact that we all get along as well as we do and you've been able to find happiness with each other." Ren glanced aside at Nora and then back around at the group. "It's a little too much for words, but thank you, for being our family."

"We love you guys." Nora spoke calmly, carrying the weight of the situation in her words. "All of you."

There was a murmur of agreement from around the table. Everyone exchanging their sentiments in kind and reciprocating the feeling back towards Ren and Nora. Ruby looked up to Blake, her new girlfriend, the most important person to her at the table other than her sister and smiled.

"I love you Blake." Ruby said quietly, only wanting her to hear. Blake turned her head slowly away from the emotional scene in front of them to Ruby. Her eyes were brimmed with tears but she was smiling. Ruby knew that she felt roughly the same as Ren and Nora but she hadn't even had a partner when she got to Beacon. She had been completely alone.

"I love you too Ruby." Blake squeezed Ruby's hand and wiped at her eyes with her free arm.

"Alright! Let's eat." Nora hollered and broke the tension of the moment by consuming an entire slice of pizza in one glorious bite. A potent display of her eating prowess and a comedic enough site to lighten everyone's moods after the emotional moment.

Ruby gave Blake's hand another gentle squeeze and released it so that they could dig in as well.

The pizza was just as good as Ruby remembered, piled high with toppings and exploding with flavor. She thought back as she ate to her date her with Jaune. It seemed like so long ago, almost like a different life.

A quick glance around the table showed her how much everything had changed since then. Sure, Ren and Nora were still dating but they would be together forever. Ruby's sister was dating her partner and that was weird enough as it is. But at the same time it just made Weiss even more like a sister which Ruby would never be mad about.

Jaune was dating Pyrrha now too. Sure Ruby had been jealous at first but that's how it should have been from the start. Since she had had time to think about it Ruby realized that she had never been as romantically interested in Jaune as she thought. She had just loved the idea of dating Jaune. Having a boyfriend and going on dates, kissing and staying up late with each other. It was all kinds of romantic and Ruby was nothing if not a hopeless romantic. That was nothing like what she had with Blake now.

It had been a month since they met alone in the dorm room. Ruby couldn't believe how fast the time was whipping by either. One day she and Blake were going to a book signing together and the next thing she knew they were sharing a bed every night opposite Yang and Weiss doing the same.

Would they have been sleeping together like that if they didn't share a room? Probably not. Did Ruby mind? Not at all.

Blake was still as caring and considerate as they day they'd met. She never pressured or rushed Ruby on anything. They slept in the same bed, but they weren't doing anything yet. Ruby was still just fifteen and they had plenty of time to figure out how to handle things. Ruby was in no hurry and it didn't seem like Blake was either.

One added bonus of the new sleeping arrangements was that no one had to sleep on the bunk beds anymore. They were still up there, a constant reminder of what RWBY had been and Ruby still sat in hers sometimes to read or for her and Blake to escape from Zwei. But, now she could tackle Blake to the bed when she got back from class, or jump out of bed in the morning because she was so happy to wake up next to her favorite girl again. Now she could do all of those things and not have to worry about dropping a bed on Weiss. Again.

"Alright everyone, who's ready for the Vytal festival?" Yang asked through a mouthful of pizza. Weiss smacked her arm lightly and handed her a napkin. Yang just smiled and wiped at her cheeks before leaning over and giving Weiss a quick peck on the cheek.

"Oh I am so ready." Nora pumped both fists into the air. "I'm gonna take our top spot Pyrrha, just you wait." Nora pulled her hands back down and ate another piece of pizza quite aggressively.

"You'll have to train very hard." Pyrrha laughed brightly, "Just because I have a wonderful boyfriend now doesn't mean I'm slowing down any." Pyrrha shot Nora a competitive glare and Ruby smiled, glad to see their team chemistry had grown with Pyrrha and Jaune's relationship, not faltered.

"I don't care which one of you gets there." Yang grinned, having now swallowed the rest of her food. "I'll beat either one of you."

"Do you think we should tell them we have to win the team rounds and the doubles matches first?" Ruby leaned over and whispered not so quietly to Blake.

"I think they know." Blake laughed, "Isn't it nice that we can all hang out like this?"

"Yeah it is," Ruby replied happily. She wouldn't press Blake on it or make a big deal out of it, but she knew that she was loving every minute of this. "We're all really lucky to have found each other."

"Alright, alright, alright wait." Jaune raised both hands and Nora and Yang's bickering slowed to a stop. "What makes you so sure it won't be me?" He held a hand to his chest proudly.

"Oh please Jaune. Can it pretty please be you?" Yang begged, "Nora come on. Let Jaune try."

Jaune began to blush and sat back down. Pyrrha put her hand over his and he brightened a little, leaning on her for support both physically and quite obviously emotionally as well. Ruby could see Pyrrha whispering something to him. She was sure Blake could hear it because she heard everything, but, it was a secret between them so she wouldn't ask.

"Do you guys wanna go train after this?" Ruby offered to the group. They still had access to the training room that the Headmaster had given them access to and hadn't made use of it in a while. "We could do couples matches." Ruby smiled. It was odd actually how well that balance worked out for them. Pyrrha and Jaune were together which was a good balance. Yang's full frontal assault was restricted or enhanced by Weiss's fragile support depending on how they handled it. Ren and Nora already operated as a deadly combination and Blake and Ruby had been partnering more and more since even before they started dating.

"Yes, we really should spend less time talking about the Vytal Festival and spend more time training for it." Weiss opined in her usual, high and mighty manner, "We'll never be truly prepared so we need to work as hard as we can to-" A straw wrapper sailed across the table and hit Weiss in the face with a muted crinkling noise.

"Uhhh…" Nora hesitated, straw in hand, "It was totally Ren." She pointed to her side quickly. Ren remained silent but held his hands up to prove his innocence. "Well… Okay it wasn't him but I was totally aiming for Yang."

"Yang, I'm going to go grab a few extra napkins." Weiss stood quickly and walked into the store.

"Nora." Ren said calmly. She stood without hesitation and followed Weiss into the store, head hung low.

"Thanks Ren." Yang said with equal calm, "We can't really have an all out food fight here can we?"

Everyone laughed but also wordlessly agreed that this was no place for those types of antics. Professor Goodwitch wasn't even around to repair anything they broke.

"Do you think someone should go check on them?" Pyrrha glanced worriedly into the store and then back around the table.

"No, no they'll be alright." Yang waved her hands dismissively, "Weiss has warmed up a lot lately I think she'll surprise you."

"And Nora knows she was in the wrong. I'm sure she'll just apologize and they'll come out as friendly as ever." Ren smiled and nodded.

"Well I think you're all crazy, but I'm too excited to see what happens to do anything." Ruby giggled and Blake shook her head with a smile.

"Ren this pizza is amazing by the way. Why have you been hiding this place from us?" Blake looked up from her anchovy covered slice to her quiet friend.

"Well, Nora and I did bring Jaune and Ruby here before but…" He trailed off as a scuffling noise could be heard inside, but it quickly stopped and he continued with no more than a blink to regather his thoughts, "But Nora and I like to preserve it as a date place. Somewhere special just for romantic outings. Now that everyone here is part of a couple, we can use it for both purposes." He smiled gently and Nora came steaming out of the store behind him.

"Some princess she is." Nora sat with a huff and continued eating her pizza. Her hair and blouse were stuffed full of straws and straw wrappers. They were sticking out of her sleeves and her neckline, jutting out of her hair and stuck every place they could fit. She completely ignored them and grabbed another slice of pepperoni pizza.

Ruby burst into a fit of giggles and Blake raised a hand to her mouth to try and stop from laughing as exuberantly as her girlfriend. Yang glanced back and forth between Nora and the closed door where Weiss still was.

"Well Yang Weiss definitely has warmed up." Pyrrha chuckled, "But it looks like she's a lot more like you now."

"Let's just be glad Nora didn't do anything to her hair." Jaune laughed and Yang gast another concerned glance at the store.

The doors banged open and Weiss emerged carrying a small stack of napkins. She sat down at Yang's side as if nothing had happened. Everyone just stared at her, equally shocked and not by the fact that she was as composed as she was.

"What?" Weiss stared at everyone, "Turnabout is fair play isn't it?"

"Have I told you lately I love you?" Yang pulled Weiss into a one armed hug and tried to kiss the top of her head, despite the heiress's protests.

"Oh Renny see, they're kissing." Nora lunged sideways towards him. Ren caught her and allowed her to kiss his cheek, but also used the opportunity to pull a large number of straw wrappers out of the back of her shirt.

The remainder of the meal was host to friendly conversation, planning for their training and preparations for the Vytal Festival. Ruby tried to focus on everyone around her and take part, but once they had finished planning she felt herself continually distracted by the beautiful girl at her side.

They all finished up eating and everyone protested when Ren and Nora tried to clean up the plates. Pyrrha and Ruby ended up clearing everything away, saying they had done too much already. Together it took the two of them almost no time at all and everyone was able to gather outside the seating area.

"Alright, you guys ready to go." Jaune jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the airships and Beacon, "We've got a lot of work to do." Pyrrha slid in at his side, wrapping both her hands around his left hand and leaning into his shoulder. Jaune had definitely grown since he'd doubled down on his training. His shoulders were larger, his arms more defined and he carried a completely different air about him. He was still goofy and fun but could be serious when he needed to.

Ruby smiled, glad that he had changed for the better. Despite what happened, they were still friends and she wanted to see him do well.

"Actually, we'll catch up to you guys. Is that okay?" Ruby asked Jaune directly even though she addressed the entire group.

"Yeah, I mean. Training was your idea but…" Jaune started in, unsure as to Ruby's meaning.

"No, no. Just Blake and I. we'll catch up I promise." Ruby stepped a little closer to Blake and squeezed her hand. She wanted to thank her for everything and tell her how much she loved her and just have a little moment alone. If everything went okay they should be able to catch the same airbus as everyone else.

"Alright," Jaune shrugged, "We will start without you though." He turned and Team JNPR headed away.

"You two be safe now." Yang winked at them and pulled Weiss away.

"We will." Ruby waved and turned back to Blake, holding both her hands.

"What's up Ruby?" Blake cocked her head off to the side just slightly. The rays from the setting sun over the ocean were orange and Blake's yellow eyes seemed to shine on their own in the low lighting. Her black hair fell loosely about her shoulders and drifted just so in the wind, tickling Ruby's face a little because they were so close.

"I just wanted to spend a minute with you is all." Ruby squeezed both her hands and smiled, "I- Well… Dinner with everyone was really nice and I did a lot of thinking during it and how everyone has changed and everything." Ruby toed her boot against the ground. She knew Blake would know she was nervous but she didn't care. It didn't matter how many times they said it or what they did. Explaining her feelings like this always made Ruby queasy. "I just… I'm so happy we're where we are now Blake. I'm so glad that everything happened the way it did. The good and the bad and everything. Everyone is so happy now and we're all together and I get to be with you and I just… I love you so much I can't take it Blake." Ruby buried her face in Blake's clothes. She wasn't crying, she just wanted to erase the distance between them.

"Ruby, I love you too." Blake held her equally tight, wrapping her arms around her and nuzzling her nose against Ruby's hair. Ruby pulled her face away just enough to turn up and face Blake, She threw her arms over Blake's neck and pulled her down so she could kiss her. Blake pulled Ruby up until she was on her tiptoes so they could come as close as possible. Ruby tangled her hands in Blake's hair and Blake pressed her hands to Ruby's back.

They broke only when they both needed to breathe and Ruby nuzzled back against Blake.

"I love you."

"I love you."

They stood there in silence after that, simply relishing in the other's presence.

"Ruby, we really are going to be late though." Blake said without separating from her. Ruby groaned and pulled out her scroll, muttering about stupid responsibilities and not just being able to love her girlfriend all night.

The others had left almost ten minutes ago and they really were going to miss the airship.

"Don't worry Blake," Ruby pocketed the scroll and gripped her hand tight, "Ruby Rose is never late." There was a woosh of air and the couple was gone, only warm orange sun beams and a trail of rose petals remained.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Well, there it is. That's a wrap everyone. I want to thank all of you for coming on this little journey with me. You're all truly incredible people. Dongyrn, ZHsteven, Zachary2, Boombox94, Yaksher, Beth+Cyra, RealTerminal, ForSpite, Pitper80skid and everyone else who read the story. Thank you so much. It's really been a treat.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story! Check back this weekend for my next piece of crazy.
> 
> -Zach


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